C. Notes: Reds' Tyler Stephenson is back and in the swing

CINCINNATI The oblique muscles are a pair of muscles on either side of the abdomen that control the rotation of the middle of the body.

Theyre not muscles you think about until you hurt one.

And once that happens, its impossible not to notice just how important they are for the everyday motions they help control.

If theres a sport where the obliques are most vital, it could be baseball, where both hitters and pitchers generate power through rotation.

And then there are catchers, who are constantly adjusting and moving, often from a squatting position.

Advertisement So it was understandable that an oblique injury was not something Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson wanted to experience this spring.

The 28-year-old catcher started the season on the injured list with a left oblique strain.

It wasnt until Friday that he was finally activated, and he celebrated with a pair of doubles as a designated hitter.

Then he hit his first home run and accounted for the teams only run in a 4-1 loss Sunday to the Washington Nationals.

Were thrilled to have him back, Reds manager Terry Francona said Friday.

Hes a big part of what we want to be doing.

We sure missed Ty Steve homers @Tyler_Step22 pic.twitter.com/DVD5mDNlBy Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 4, 2025 With right-handed hitting outfielder Austin Hays on the IL, Stephenson brings another right-handed bat to the lineup.

Stephenson served as the teams designated hitter on Friday and Sunday against left-handed starters and started behind the plate against the right-handed Trevor Williams on Saturday.

That setup will likely continue over the next couple of weeks, at least until Hays returns and Stephenson can get worked into the catching rotation more.

For Stephenson, its just good to be back.

While Stephensons numbers at Triple-A Louisville on his rehab assignment (3-for-34) werent great, upon his return Friday, he said he started seeing the ball better and was confident in what he could do when he returned to the big-league lineup.

He matched his hit total from Triple-A in just three games and already has logged more extra-base hits with the Reds.

I feel like in the past week or so Ive been seeing the ball a lot better, Stephenson said.

Im just trying to get pitches Im supposed to hit and be on time for them.

In his first at-bat on Sunday, Stephenson sent MacKenzie Gores 2-2 curveball into the seats in right field to tie the score at 1-1.

He also recorded a walk, a strikeout and a groundout on the day.

Advertisement In his absence, Reds catchers have been among the best in baseball.

Jose Trevino and Austin Wynns are hitting .303 and .394, respectively.

That helped Stephenson not have to rush his way back from the IL.

The team wouldnt be where were at if it wasnt for those two, Stephenson said.

Its been a lot of fun to watch them.

While Stephenson underwent treatment and continued to work out on the IL, it wasnt until he played a game that he felt comfortable with the injury.

We progressed well and it probably wasnt until my first game action I was in and I swung and missed, check swung, fouled a ball off, that I was like, OK, Stephenson said.

Mentally, it was a checklist and after that, it was either going to happen or not.

Either Im healthy or its going to happen again.

TY STEVE BACK @Tyler_Step22 pic.twitter.com/rSHN5sZhsr Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 3, 2025 In his first game back on Friday, Stephenson walked and scored in his first plate appearance, hit a two-run double in his second and doubled and scored in his third.

He was 0-for-2 on Saturday in his first start behind the plate and then homered on Sunday.

Hes a veteran presence, really, said right-hander Nick Martinez, who allowed just one run on four hits in six innings on Sunday.

(Hes a) really smart hitter and obviously knows how to command the staff.

Hes really coming into his own.

While Stephenson has flirted with playing some first base in the past, this spring Francona said the team didnt want to add that to his plate this year.

Although the Reds now have three catchers, when asked again this week about Stephenson not playing first, Francona said that is still the plan.

However, Wynns worked out at the position before Sundays game.

Wynns played one inning in the big leagues at first base in 2021 with the Baltimore Orioles and two games there in the minors, both in 2015 in High A.

Advertisement Gone, not forgotten After the St.

Louis Cardinals swept the Reds in a doubleheader on Wednesday, Francona noted in his postgame news conference that if his team won the next day, it would be in no small part due to the six innings Lyon Richardson and Brent Suter combined to pitch in a game 2 loss.

The kudos didnt end there.

After the Reds beat the Cardinals in the series finale, Francona found Suter and thanked him in person.

He then texted Richardson, who had been optioned to the minors to refresh the teams depth in the bullpen.

Thats a text message you definitely screenshot and save, Suter said Sunday.

Suter remembers how hard it was to be a reliever with options, getting sent up and down between the majors and minors multiple times in a season, sometimes going down to the minors through no fault of your own.

With Richardson, the team didnt have a day off for more than a week and after a doubleheader with a pair of short starts, having relievers that are available to pitch was paramount, so Richardson went to Louisville.

It takes a lot out of you and so thats just great encouragement and increases the buy-in level, Suter said.

Its like, you already knew you were going to run through a wall for (Francona), but even more so now.

Bengals stripes at GABP Trevino has never understood why catchers dont have as much fun with the designs on their catching helmets as hockey goalies do.

For his All-Star Game appearance in 2022, Trevino was playing with the New York Yankees and had someone make a helmet that showcased a pair of bridges: New Yorks Brooklyn Bridge and the Harbor Bridge in his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas.

He currently has one with red graphics for Fridays when the team wears its black City Connect uniforms, a gray one and a red one.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marcus Rivero (@solesbysir) Earlier this year, Trevino had an idea for a new helmet to help represent his new home and contacted Marcos Rivera, who is known for customizing cleats.

When the Reds were in Miami, Rivera hand-delivered Trevinos new helmet.

The helmet is mostly red, but it has white stripes on it that are the same pattern as the black stripes on the Cincinnati Bengals helmet.

Jose Trevino rocking a Bengals-themed catcher's mask pic.twitter.com/CkgxzDr09w Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 29, 2025 Thats just the beginning, Trevino said.

Ive got a couple coming in, he said with a smile.

When Trevino was coming up to the big leagues with the Texas Rangers, there were limitations on the color of shoes that players could wear.

The policy change has been good for the marketing of the sport.

Trevino thinks catchers could draw more interest in the game with cooler helmets.

He noted that his 6-year-old son has a sliding glove, as do all his friends, even though they dont slide head first.

They have them in part because Elly De La Cruz wears them.

Advertisement Kids love it, he said.

Trevino also had special catchers gear, including a helmet, for Jackie Robinson Day last month.

His gear was blue with a large white 42 on his chest and Robinsons signature and pictures of Robinson.

While Trevino loved the gear, hes going to be giving it away because none other than Johnny Bench asked for it.

Trevino said hes not yet met Bench in person.

He was supposed to after winning the Gold Glove and Platinum Glove in 2022, but Bench was unable to attend the ceremony.

Having spoken to Bench on the phone many times, he expects to see him this year, his first with the Reds.

Right side of the Law Three friends from Louisville made the trek up to Cincinnati on Saturday to support their favorite player, Washington Nationals reliever Derek Law.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by C.

Trent Rosecrans (@ctrentath) Last year, the three found a glitch in the video game MLB The Show that gave them access to Laws Real 99 card.

The cards are given to real big league players, allowing them to use themselves in the game with the maximum rating in all areas.

When the three discovered Laws glitch, they became fans and got jerseys from two of Laws former teams the Reds and San Francisco Giants as well as his current team, the Nationals.

But the Nationals jersey came with its own glitch: the number 56 instead of Laws 58.

The three came to Saturdays game for Nationals batting practice hoping to catch Laws eye.

When they didnt, they reached out to him on social media.

Law responded by leaving them tickets for Sundays game between the Nationals and Reds.

The three were standing by the wall in left field during batting practice, waiting for Law.

Nationals pitching coach Jim Hickey took a picture of them and then Law came out and talked to them and signed their jerseys, baseballs and even a Racing Teddy Roosevelt Funko Pop.

Advertisement The week that was In a week that featured a rainout and multiple rain delays, the Reds went 3-4 at home.

The Reds split a four-game series with the Cardinals, including losing both games of a doubleheader on Wednesday, and lost two of three against the Nationals.

The weeks highlight was Hunter Greenes performance in Fridays victory over Washington.

Greene struck out 12 batters, the second-most hes recorded in a big-league start.

Greene is now 4-2 with a 2.53 ERA.

The week ahead The Reds travel to Atlanta to face the Braves for four games at Truist Park.

From there, the team heads to Houston to face the Astros for three before returning home.

Injury updates RHP Rhett Lowder (right forearm strain) is scheduled to pitch in Arizona on Tuesday and if all goes well, would pitch in Dayton next week.

1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand (low back inflammation) ran on the field before Sundays game.

Francona said Encarnacion-Strand responded well to his second shot to help relieve the pain in his back.

OF Austin Hays (left hamstring sprain) said hes feeling better and the team was being cautious with his sore hamstring when they put him on the IL Friday to activate Stephenson.

Minor-league report Triple-A Louisville (16-16): OFs Rece Hinds and Will Benson combined to drive in six runs in Sundays 15-3 victory over the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals).

Hinds is hitting .274/.338/.521 and hit his seventh homer of the season Sunday.

He has 40 strikeouts and 11 walks in 134 plate appearances.

His strikeout rate of 30.5 percent is down from his 37.9 percent at Triple A last year and 31.4 percent in the big leagues.

Benson is hitting .282/.373/.500 with six home runs.

Benson has 35 strikeouts and 15 walks in 127 plate appearances.

His strikeout rate of 27.3 percent is down from his 39.7 percent rate in the big leagues last year.

Double-A Chattanooga (14-12): RHP Chase Burns picked up his first Double-A win Friday, allowing a run on five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks over five innings against the Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays).

Burns has allowed two runs over nine innings at Double A, with 13 strikeouts and one walk.

Advertisement High-A Dayton (9-18): 1B John Michael Faile has hit everywhere hes been.

Now in his second year in the Reds organization, the 24-year-old is hitting .288/.354/.416 at Dayton.

Last year he hit .282/.369/.519 between rookie ball and Dayton.

Faile set the Division II record with 81 home runs and 337 RBIs at North Greenville University, S.C., over five seasons.

After going undrafted in 2023, he played with the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League, a partner of Major League Baseball, and after hitting .353 with 21 homers there, he was signed by the Reds.

A catcher in college, hes only played first base and DH this year.

Low-A Daytona (12-15): RHP Ty Floyd, the 38th pick in the 2023 draft, gave up just two hits over four innings Sunday.

Floyd, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, hasnt pitched more than four innings in any start this season as he works his way back.

Hes been impressive through six starts, putting up a 1.71 ERA over 21 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

After giving up four earned runs across his first three outings, he hasnt given up an earned run in his last three.

(Photo: Sam Greene / The Enquirer via Imagn Images).

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