Cincinnati Reds sign IF/OF Mark Mathias to minor league deal

Tuesday news!

Mark Mathias is, perhaps, a poor man’s Nick Senzel. A Matt Reynolds type, the Alejo Lopez of Mark Teahens.

Mark Mathias is now a part of the Cincinnati Reds organization, too - he inked a minor league with the club last night during Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings, as MLB Trade Rumors pointed out early this morning. As they noted, he’ll presumably head to big league camp in Goodyear for spring training in February, seeing as he appeared in 27 games during the 2023 season split between the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants.

He’s capable of playing the corners of both the infield and outfield, and the former 3rd round pick out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has produced a solid-enough .837 OPS in 224 career games at the AAA level. However, his cups of coffee at the big league level haven’t held nearly as much water (.708 OPS in 73 games split between Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Texas, and Milwaukee dating back to the 2020 season).

It’s a depth signing, one that will add a versatile piece at the AAA level at little cost. Hey, that sounds just like Matt Reynolds!