Jeimer Candelario officially released by the Cincinnati Reds
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Jeimer Candelario was officially released by the Cincinnati Reds.
After the Reds designated Candelario for assignment Monday, June 23, the club released him Sunday, June 29 after he cleared waivers.
Candelario, the Cincinnati Reds' highest-priced free agent signing in the past five years, was designated for assignment halfway through a three-year, $45 million deal.
Candelario struggled to hit and play both corner infield positions even when healthy during an injury-plagued tenure with the Reds. He'd recently run out of time on a minor-league rehab assignment after recovering from a lower back injury.
With no alternatives for keeping him on rehab and no appealing ways to fit Candelario and his .113-hitting production back into the lineup, the Reds chose to pay him $22.5 million not to play for them the next year-and-a-half rather than to play for them.
Last season, Candelario's first after signing as a free agent, he hit .225 with a .279 on-base percentage with 20 home runs and 56 RBI in 112 games played.
“At the end of the day you have to look at it as sunk cost because if he’s not going to help you, you can’t bring a player that’s not going to help this team win,” President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said. “We felt we were in a better spot with the players we had here.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jeimer Candelario officially released by the Cincinnati Reds
