ATLANTA – Spencer Steer, one of the Cincinnati Reds' biggest injury losses of the season, hoped to avoid surgery on his damaged right wrist and even had plans to get some at-bats in the Arizona Fall League in a few weeks.
But an aggressive afternoon of batting practice over the weekend appears to have aggravated the tendon-sheath injury, prompting the decision to scrap the more patient rehab approach and schedule surgery for Wednesday, Sept. 30.“It kind of grabbed at him a little bit,” manager Terry Francona said. “Rather than put it off, I think he was ready.”
Francona said Steer is expected to have enough time to rehab the surgery and get back to baseball
activities in time to be at full readiness for the start of spring training.
Steer, whose defensive versatility has played a key role for the Reds in recent years, hurt the wrist on a swing July 26 in St. Louis, causing enough pain he was unable to finish the at-bat. He hasn't played since.
He finished the season with a .238 average, 16 home runs and a .739 OPS in 98 games, ending a streak of three consecutive seasons with more than 20 home runs.
Tony Santillan surgery Sept. 24
As expected, right-hander Tony Santillan was scheduled for surgery on his injured left hip Thursday Sept. 24.
Santillan, who began experiencing pain in the area two weeks ago, tried to pitch through it before landing on the injured list over the weekend.
The club doesn't expect to have a timeline for Santillan's recovery and rehab until the extent of the damage is determined during the surgery.
A force in the Reds' playoff bullpen last season – with a 2.44 ERA in 80 appearances – Santillan struggled most of this season with career highs in walk rate and home runs allowed.
He finished the season with a 6.42 ERA in 44 games and blown saves in half his 10 chances.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Reds' Spencer Steer changed course, scheduled surgery on wrist
