Fall League at-bats in play for Reds' injured Spencer Steer (wrist)?
· Yahoo Sports
MILWAUKEE — One of the most overlooked injury losses to negatively impact the Cincinnati Reds in the second half remains in the middle of the team’s radar as the season winds down.
Spencer Steer, whose injured right wrist has sidelined him since just after the All-Star break, has progressed enough in his rehab work that it appears he’ll avoid surgery and was expected to start swinging a bat again this weekend for the first time since the injury.
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It doesn’t mean he’ll be back in time to get in a game this season.
But his latest exam, just ahead of the Reds opening a weekend series in Milwaukee, keep the best-case scenario for next season in play for Steer and the team.
“All is going really well,” manager Terry Francona said. “So he’ll begin more range of motion (activity) and start to get a bat in his hand (for dry swings).
“The goal is we want him to have a normal offseason,” the manager added. “We might be pushing it if we try to do it by the end of the season. So there are some things that are out there that we’ll explore.”
The Reds don’t plan to ask him to spend any time out of the country in winter ball, even for a week. But Arizona Fall League play might be an option, depending on the rules for rehabbing player or those with his veteran status.
“We don’t want it to get much later, knowing we want to make the swings with — I don’t want to say with violence — but that he takes a pitch, misses a pitch, check swing, try and get a high fastball,” Francona said. “So he knows he’s not going to pick up a bad in spring training and not be hurting.”
With planning for offseason transactions in a massive state of flux for teams given the likelihood of a labor lockout Dec. 1, anything the Reds can do to assure best outcomes in 2027 for in-house players becomes even more important.
Steer has been one of the Reds’ most consistent hitters since being acquired in a trade from Minnesota in 2022 and the team’s most versatile defender, and earned Gold Glove-finalist status his lone season concentrating on one position (first base).
In 98 games this season, Steer hit .238 with 16 homers and 40 RBIs. He also hit .238 in 2025 when he hit 21 homers with 75 RBIs in 146 games.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Fall League at-bats in play for Reds' injured Spencer Steer (wrist)?