HOUSTON -- Outfielder Jake Fraley became the latest Red to feel the injury bug, as he was officially placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Wednesday, with left calf tenderness.
Fraley had been day to day since an MRI on Wednesday revealed a muscle bleed at the top of the calf. He tried to push through the injury, going through warmups pregame on Friday before he was scratched less than 30 minutes before first pitch.
“We thought the steroid pack was going to help me get over the top, but I ran yesterday and it was grabbing on me, so we were trying to make the smart decision,” Fraley said. “It’s only May, and with a calf especially, I already have the strain, so if I go out there and make one wrong move, you’re looking at a significant amount of time.”
Fraley said the hope is that he will be out only the required time.
“I think so, because there is no tearing in it,” Fraley said. “I did have some bleeding and the stretching and disruption of the muscle fibers they were talking about, which is just a technical way of saying it’s strained. I think six days and continuing the dose pack and giving myself rest will allow me to get myself back in the lineup.”
Connor Joe, who was acquired from the Padres on Friday, was activated on Saturday to take Fraley’s spot and was in the lineup, playing left field.
“I’m always excited about the opportunity in the big leagues,” Joe said before Saturday’s game. “Not quite sure of the opportunity as far as playing time. I still have to get in there and talk to [manager Terry Francona], but I’m just excited to be here and, hopefully, help the team out.”
Joe has spent the majority of this season with Triple-A El Paso, where he hit .267 and drove in four runs in 16 games. He appeared in seven games for San Diego this season, going 0-for-9.
Joe, who signed a one-year contract with the Padres in February, is a career .241 hitter with 35 home runs and 141 RBIs in parts of six Major League seasons, during which he also played for the Pirates, Rockies and Giants.
He was in Spring Training with the Reds in 2019 as a Rule 5 pick, so he has familiarity with the organization, but he was traded to the Giants before the regular season.
Joe said he talked with Cincinnati over the last offseason before signing with San Diego, “but the conversations I had with the front office while I was going through free agency, I really liked.”
“I knew that they were interested in me and really wanted me, so when it came full circle and I was traded over here, I was excited,” Joe said. “I knew they wanted me, and it’s always nice as a ballplayer to go to a team that wants you.”
Fraley marks the fourth player the Reds have placed on the injured list in the past week, joining right-hander Hunter Greene (right groin strain), rookie left fielder/second baseman Tyler Callihan (left forearm fracture) and third baseman Noelvi Marte (left oblique strain).
Francona said they have “been keeping an eye on the barometer or temperature pretty good” to make sure the team doesn’t let the recent injury bug bring it down. The Reds are 1-4 on their current seven-game road trip through Atlanta and Houston.
“They’ve been good,” Francona said. “We haven’t had as much success as we’ve wanted lately, but they have been enthusiastic. … We’re not winning as many games as we’ve wanted lately. We’re trying to make that change.”