Reds Star Close To Return

There haven't been a lot of things going right for the Cincinnati Reds this season, but the performance of their star young catcher Tyler Stephenson had certainly been one of them. Unfortunately, he went down with a fractured thumb just under a month ago. Today, his return to the team took a huge step forward. 

The #Reds today sent C Tyler Stephenson on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Louisville. pic.twitter.com/o3Hj9zLwEb

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 4, 2022

Stephenson today begins a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville. The Reds' 25-year-old catcher was hitting .305 with an .829 OPS at the time off his injury, with 5 homers and 31 RBIs. He was clearly in line to be the team's All-Star representative, though now with all the time missed, that's up in the air. 

Stephenson will actually be making his Triple-A debut during this rehab tenure. He spent 2019 in Double-A, then when the pandemic cancelled the 2020 minor league season, he was at the team's alternate site while getting in just a handful of games in Cincinnati. In 2021 he made the majors out of spring training and the rest is history. 

His return to Cincinnati is ever-so-close now.

Photo Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports