Friedl to miss extended time with wrist fracture

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds will be without center fielder TJ Friedl for an extended period after he was diagnosed Sunday with a non-displaced fracture in his right wrist.

Friedl’s wrist is in a soft cast. His return has no immediate timeline, but he will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.

"The only thing I can do is just let the bone heal," Friedl said. “I’m going to do everything on my end I can to keep the hand stable and in place and not move it around.”

With two outs in the top of the second inning against the Mariners on Saturday, Friedl attempted a diving catch on Ryan Bliss’ line drive to center field. As he hit the ground, his right glove hand rolled under him. His glove flung into the air, and he spent several moments down on the field.

After the 28-year-old exited the game, initial X-rays were negative and he was diagnosed with a sprain. However, an MRI exam followed that revealed a small fracture of the distal radius bone in his wrist. Team physician Dr. Andrew Razzano made the diagnosis.

“It’s tough and I’m trying not to look back on the play and think about diving or not because that’s who I am,” Friedl said. “There’s no off switch. It doesn’t matter if it’s Spring Training or Game 7 of the World Series. That’s just the way I play the game. I play the game hard, and this is one of those things that’s just a freak incident. My glove got caught in the grass, and it just stuck, and everything else kept going.”

While lacking the name recognition of young teammates Elly De La Cruz or Matt McLain, Friedl was a pivotal contributor to Cincinnati last season. They were counting on him as a leadoff hitter and he will play a big part in their 2024 efforts to contend for the postseason.

"TJ is a huge part of our team, we know that," Reds manager David Bell said. "He works so hard and cares so much about it. It's a tough loss. I know how much he loves to play. He’s going to miss it."

Friedl cemented himself as a regular for the first time in 2023 while batting .279 with an .819 OPS, 18 home runs, 66 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 138 games. The lefty hitter led the Major Leagues with 17 bunt hits and had a .962 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers. He also led the club with a 3.8 WAR.

Defensively, Friedl led the Reds outfielders with nine assists.

“It definitely sucks," Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "It sucks for TJ, it sucks for the team. But we’ll let it heal for a couple of weeks and see where it is and then start progressing him to getting back to the big leagues.”

Without Friedl, the likely two in-house options for center field are right-handed hitter Stuart Fairchild and left-handed hitter Will Benson.

“We’ve had some internal discussions," Krall said. "Nothing concrete just yet, we’ll have to figure out what the best options are.”

Fairchild has 52 career games in center field over three big league seasons, including 17 starts there last season.

"I'm always ready for whatever the team asks me," Fairchild said before the full extent of Friedl's injury was known. "That's as simple as it is."

In his two Major League seasons, Benson has played center field over 14 games, but only four last season for the Reds with one start.

Could the Reds go outside the organization for another center fielder?

"We're still looking if we can fill it internally," Krall said. "Maybe there is an external [option]. Maybe somebody doesn't make a roster that fits. We're looking at that across the board. It's not just for this."

The Reds will also have to determine a new leadoff hitter and there's plenty of options. From 2021-22, Jonathan India was their primary leadoff hitter and often filled the role in '23. There is also McLain, Spencer Steer and others.

Friedl looked forward to returning as soon as possible to help the club.

"It's tough not being able to go out there for Opening Day and for however long it is," he said. "We have a lot of guys in this clubhouse who rally around each other. It's not just one individual guy. Baseball is a game of someone doing something different every day. I'm not really worried about these guys. They will continue to do what they do best. All I can do is put myself in a position to pick up where I left off and rejoin the team."