The Reds announced that outfielder Will Benson has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment Triple-A Louisville. He had been designated for assignment last week when right-hander Hunter Greene came off the 60-day injured list.
Benson had the right to elect free agency but it’s not a surprise that he has waived that right. Players with at least three years of service have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of the open market. But if they have fewer than five years of service, they forfeit their remaining salary commitments when they do so. Benson got over the three-year line last year and qualified for arbitration for the first time. He is making $1.725MM this year, with still about $745K to be paid out.
The lefty Benson has shown some flashes of potential at times but his three-true-outcomes approach has often leaned too much to the strikeout side of the equation. He had a great showing in 2023, with 11 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 108 games. His 31.3% strikeout rate was quite high but he offset that somewhat with a 12.2% walk rate. He slashed 275/.365/.498 for a 129 wRC+, with some help from a .391 batting average on balls in play.
His production hasn’t been anywhere close to that level since then. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has taken 755 plate appearances. He has hit 29 home runs in that time and drawn walks at a solid 9.5% clip but he has been set down on strikes in 34.3% of those appearances. That has led to a combined .200/.279/.390 batting line and 79 wRC+ for that stretch.
Benson clearly has some tools but that lack of offensive production became untenable. He lost his roster spot with the Reds and the other 29 clubs all passed on the chance to scoop him up. He will see if he can get back on track at the Triple-A level. If he doesn’t get his roster spot back by season’s end, he’ll become a free agent, like all players with at least three years of service time who are removed from a 40-man roster during a season.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Doster, Imagn Images
