Cincinnati Reds Recall Donald Lutz

Jun. 23, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Cincinnati Reds outfielder Donald Lutz against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds made a roster move this afternoon, that could improve their bench production when first baseman/outfielder Donald Lutz was recalled from Triple-A Louisville.

Infielder Netfail Soto was optioned to Louisville to make room on the roster, no disrespect to Soto, but he is not MLB ready.

Lutz, started the season at Double-A Pensacola and batted .360 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in 23 games before getting prompted to triple A last week. He was batting .200 in five games at Louisville.

He played in 34 games for the Reds last season, from April 29-June 24, and batted .241 with one homer and eight RBIs.

Soto, who made the big league club out of Spring Training, struggled at the plate while playing rarely. He batted .107 in 19 games and was used for two games to fill in for the injured Joey Votto.

The Reds need depth at first base while Votto is on the disabled list with a distal quadriceps strain and Lutz can provide that and a left-handed bat off the bench, and can run a bit as well.

Cincinnati and St Louis begin their three game Memorial weekend series, tonight. All the games in the series are night games, remember, the game on Sunday night, start time is at 8:05pm, because it’s the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game of the week.

Jun 16, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds player Donald Lutz hits a single off Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Wily Peralta during the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports