The Reds are calling up top infield prospect Sal Stewart, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports. The transaction will presumably be made official prior to Cincinnati’s game with Toronto on Monday, and only a 26-man roster move will need to be made since Stewart is already on the 40-man.
Stewart was the 32nd overall pick of the 2022 draft, and he’ll be making his big league debut whenever he first appears in a game. Beyond just the regular pressure of playing in the majors for the first time, Stewart is also joining a Reds team that is desperately trying to stay in the wild card picture. The Reds’ win over the Cardinals today was only Cincinnati’s second victory in its last 10 games, as the Reds have dropped to a 69-68 record and four games behind the Mets for the last NL wild card slot.
If anything, Cincinnati fans would’ve preferred to have seen Stewart in the Show weeks ago, given how the lineup has been struggling and Stewart has been crushing minor league pitching. The infielder has a combined .309/.383/.523 slash line over 494 plate appearances in Double-A (329 PA) and Triple-A (165 PA) this season, which marked the first time Stewart had played above A-level ball. It has been a rapid rise for a player who is just 21 years old, and it is possible he might’ve made it to the majors even sooner if a wrist injury hadn’t limited him to 80 games in 2024.
More to come…
