Dane Myers is using the All-Star break to get back on the field the hard way.
With the Cincinnati Reds idle for much of this week and the full-season minor league clubs also off, Myers had to head to Arizona to keep playing while he works his way back from the 10-day injured list. The rookie-level ACL Reds are still in season, and that’s where he landed - the lowest level in the farm system that plays in the United States, since the organization also has two teams in the Dominican Summer League.
Myers has been out for more than two weeks after a hard collision with the wall in Milwaukee on June 29, when he exited after making the catch. He was checked out afterward, with x-rays and scans showing everything was right, but the collision still left him dealing with pain. He needed time before he could get back out there.
His rehab assignment got rolling Monday night in the greater Phoenix area, when the ACL Reds were playing a road game against the Kansas City Royals affiliate. The game never made it to the books.
A dust storm rolled through in the bottom of the fifth, then rain followed, and after a little more than a two-hour delay the game was called. It was tied at the time, and with only eight days left in the season, it was canceled for record-keeping purposes and treated as if it never happened.
But Myers was there, and he did work.
He led off the game and was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance. His next trip ended with a walk. In his final at-bat before the weather shut things down, he struck out looking.
He was back in center field last night against the Brewers affiliate, and the results were a little more varied. Myers popped out to first base in the first inning, struck out swinging in the third, then worked a seven-pitch walk in the fourth. His last at-bat came in the sixth, when he flied out to right.
The Reds don’t return to action until Friday, when they open a three-game series in Colorado against the Rockies. The ACL Reds play tonight and tomorrow night, and Myers could still get into both games before potentially linking back up with Cincinnati in Colorado if he and the organization decide he’s ready.
In Other News...
Eugenio Surez Just Reached A Painful Crossroads With The Reds
Eugenio Surez came back to Cincinnati with the kind of expectations that usually follow a familiar face returning to a place where he once mattered. Instead, the season has been defined by interrupted rhythm and missed time, including a left oblique strain that cost him 25 games, and by the broader frustration of a Reds club sitting in last place and looking toward the August 3 trade deadline with a sellers mindset.
For Surez, the crossroads is less about nostalgia than about whether there is still enough production left to matter in the stretch run. His offensive numbers have lagged, his defensive value has slipped, and even with Terry Francona publicly showing faith in what Surez can still provide, the bigger question around the veteran is whether Cincinnati can get enough out of him to change the conversation at all. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A Costly New Reality On Jacob Misiorowski
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For Milwaukee, that matters because Jacob Misiorowski is now the next name to watch in the same conversation. The Brewers have a pitcher whose performance this season has only strengthened his case, and the Burns deal suggests any serious extension talks would have to climb well past that benchmark. In other words, if the Brewers want to lock Misiorowski in, they may be staring at a number that gets uncomfortable in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Prospect Just Made The Kind Of Debut Fans Notice
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Wereskis path makes the debut even more notable. He pitched at Columbia and Rutgers, spent time in independent ball before landing with Cincinnati, and arrived with the kind of backstory that often comes with a little extra urgency. With the Reds continuing to build around college players and with draft rules potentially shifting in ways that could change how clubs like Cincinnati attack future classes, performances like this one only sharpen the conversation around who might be next to rise. [Read more 🡒]