What It Means:

Aquino is included in the Reds' 60-man player pool but he's been assigned to the group of 22 that will be preparing at an auxiliary site in Mason, Ohio. Despite the move seeming to suggest that Aquino is on the outside looking in of making the Opening Day roster, Reds general manager Nick Krall claims the decision will have no impact on Aquino's chances. He added that social distancing and preferred working groups also factored into the decision. Aquino burst onto the scene with a .320 batting average and 1.158 OPS over his first 29 games as a rookie but he then hit below .200 with a .619 OPS over his final 27 contests. That poor play then carried over into Grapefruit League action before everything was suspended, as Aquino went a woeful 2-for-26 (.077) with 11 strikeouts. He turned 26 in April.

numberFire's models project Aquino to bat .246 with 8 homers, 21 RBI, 18 runs scored, and 2 steals in 134 plate appearances this season. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Reds are tied for 13th-best odds (+2600) to win the 2020 World Series.