According to Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds center fielder TJ Friedl was lifted from yesterday’s game with what the team initially described as a right wrist strain. Since then, though, the team has given a considerably more dire update on Friedl’s condition: the 28-year-old will not be included on the team’s Opening Day roster due to a right wrist fracture, and he is expected to miss a “extended period of time.”According to Wittenmeyer, Friedl told reporters last evening that he won’t be able to play baseball again until the bone heals. Friedl expressed hope that he will play for the Reds at some point this year, but he did not provide a timeline for his comeback. In three to four weeks, he will undergo another evaluation to decide the next steps in his rehabilitation.

The team’s prospects of winning the NL Central this season are severely damaged by the news. The 28-year-old had a.279/.352/467 slash line in 138 games, 27 stolen bases, and solid center field defense last season, making him one of the team’s most dependable all-around players. Friedl’s impressive performance put him in a position to be one of the most important players in the team’s positional mix this season, especially considering the team’s comparatively shallow outfield depth compared to their renownedly deep infield mix. The team will probably start the season with players like Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild in center field in Friedl’s absence. That would give players like Jonathan India, Jake Fraley, and Spencer Steer more playing time at the infield corners.Currently carrying a spot on the 40-man roster are outfield depth possibilities for the club in Nick Martini and Bubba Thompson.

The Reds will likely start the season with far less depth on the positional side than anticipated due to the loss of Friedl to injury and third baseman Noelvi Marte’s 80-game suspension after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Boldenone. For the club’s plethora of young infielders, such as Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who all seem likely to get regular at-bats alongside players like Jeimer Candelario, India, and Steer in the infield mix while Friedl and Marte are out, that will mean more opportunities—and more pressure. In addition, the team has a few non-roster players like Josh Harrison and Tony Kemp who might add more infield depth off the bench.

Even though the Reds are likely considering all of those internal options, Wittenmeyer said that, in light of Friedl’s injury, President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall did not rule out searching outside the organization for further positional help. This winter, the Reds showed how much they valued the depth of their position players when they added Candelario to the infield on a three-year contract, further solidifying their decision not to trade Jonathan India even though he was starting to fade out of the team’s regular lineup. Since the club has already benefited greatly from those choices in lessening the pain of losing Marte and Friedl before the 2024 season even started, it is sense that Krall would look for further methods to strengthen the team’s depth.

Having said that, the Reds would probably have to turn to the trade market in order to enhance their present outfield composition, given the Pirates’ recent agreement with veteran outfielder Michael A. Taylor pulled the final reliable center fielder off the open market last week. It would be surprising to see Cincinnati make a big move for another bat, but it’s possible the team could try to add a veteran who isn’t on the roster of his current team and is currently in camp with another club on a non-roster deal. They could do this by waiting for them to activate an opt-out clause and return to the open market, or by making a small trade before Spring Training ends.Many of the senior center fielders now in camp with other clubs on minor league contracts, including Oscar Mercado, Tim Locastro, Brett Phillips, Rafael Ortega, Trayce Thompson, and Albert Almora, might be speculative fits for a bench role with the Reds should they become available.