GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Cincinnati Reds center fielder TJ Friedl will miss Opening Day after suffering a non-displaced fracture of the distal radius in his right wrist. Friedl suffered the injury in Saturday’s Cactus League game against the Seattle Mariners while diving to attempt a catch.
Friedl, 28, led the Reds with a 3.8 Baseball Reference WAR last season and established himself as the team’s everyday center fielder and leadoff man. For now, center field will be manned by Stuart Fairchild and Will Benson, and president of baseball operations Nick Krall said it’s possible another option could present itself from outside of the organization as rosters are trimmed.
An initial X-ray taken Saturday showed no fracture, but even at the time, Friedl was warned that he wasn’t in the clear. An MRI later revealed the fracture in his glove-hand wrist. Friedl met with Reds team physician Dr. Andrew Razzano on Sunday in Goodyear Ballpark.
“Right now it’s just going to be waiting for the bone to heal,” Friedl said. “I’ve got to be in this soft cast and then just reassess in three to four weeks.”
There was no ligament damage and the fracture is small, Friedl said he was told. He’ll be able to continue working out and throwing, although he will not be able to hit or catch.
Friedl established himself as an everyday player last season, as the left-handed hitting outfielder actually hit left-handed pitching better than right-handed pitching in 2023, putting up a .962 OPS against lefties and .785 against right-handed pitchers. Friedl hit .279/.352/.467 with 18 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Without Friedl, the left-handed hitting Benson and right-handed hitting Fairchild will split time in center field. Benson, Spencer Steer and Jake Fraley were expected to get the majority of the playing time in the outfield alongside Friedl, with Fairchild backing up all three spots.
“We’ve had some internal discussions, nothing concrete just yet,” Krall said.
He didn’t rule out looking outside the organization for more depth.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point, I wouldn’t say we’re going to go look there, but I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point,” Krall said. “We’re still looking to figure out if we can fill it internally. Maybe there’s somebody doesn’t make a roster that fits — we’re looking at that across the board, it’s not just for this.”
Friedl started 108 games in center field last season, and Fairchild started 17. Jose Barrero, designated for assignment earlier this month, started 15 last year and Nick Senzel started 12. Benson played four games in center, with one start.
Others in camp, including veterans Josh Harrison and Tony Kemp, have played center field in the past, but have played there sparingly. Harrison has played just two games in center, both in 2021. Kemp hasn’t played center since 2019.
Friedl said he’d talked to Harrison, who had suffered a broken bone in his hand before. Harrison told Friedl that there was nothing he could do but give it time and let the bone heal.
Friedl said he wouldn’t second-guess himself diving for a ball in a spring training game.
“It’s tough and 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. I play the game hard and this is just one of those things. It’s a freak incident. My glove got caught in the grass and got stuck and everything else kept going.”
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(Photo: David Richard / USA Today)
