CINCINNATI -- It was not misplaced on middle fielder Nick Senzel that he was in Toledo when phrase got here that his rehab project with Triple-A Louisville was ending and that he was coming again to the Reds to make his 2023 regular-season debut on Thursday in Cincinnati's 6-2 win over Philadelphia.

“That’s where I got the call when I made my debut back in 2019,” Senzel stated. "It was form of a bit of emotional. I do know it may be a giant 12 months for me.”

To make room for Senzel, the Reds optioned outfielder Will Benson to Louisville.

Senzel was again within the massive league lineup for the primary time since Sept. 20, when he fractured his massive left toe in a wall collision vs. the Red Sox and missed the ultimate 14 video games of the 2022 season.

The therapeutic had problems and Senzel wanted surgical procedure on his toe in November. He was confined to a boot and scooter to get round many of the offseason, which put him behind going into Spring Training. He did not make his Cactus League debut till the ultimate week of camp.

In seven video games with Louisville, Senzel batted .240/.406/.440 (6-for-25) with one house run.

"I didn’t really get much of a Spring Training. It was good to get 2 ½ weeks of games and at-bats," Senzel stated. "The extra I used to be on the market, the extra comfy I used to be feeling.”

The time in Louisville additionally previewed one thing Senzel will expertise in Cincinnati -- transferring round. He performed two video games in middle discipline, two video games at third base and his remaining two video games in left discipline. He was additionally the designated hitter in a single sport.

It was the primary time, professionally, that Senzel ever performed left discipline.

"Actually, I took to it pretty well," he stated. "It was a superb problem for me. I feel taking part in outfield fairly a bit and transferring over labored to my profit. I feel it was good to be on the market.”

Senzel, 27, began in middle discipline vs. the Phillies on Thursday, however supervisor David Bell is anticipating to maneuver him round and use him as a utility possibility.

"It’s really day to day," Bell stated. "We’ve seen Nick, at this level, mostly in center field. We know he can play third base. I have no doubt he can play second base. He started to play corner outfield recently. I would never say anything on the field is easy, but I have a lot of confidence in Nick’s ability to take on new challenges even without a lot of experience."

During Thursday's series-opening victory over the Phillies, Senzel moved from middle discipline to second base for the ultimate two innings when Kevin Newman exited the sport after being hit by a pitch on the shoulder within the backside of the sixth. Senzel went 0-for-4 on the night time.

This is seen as a pivotal season for Senzel, who has been injured typically since his massive league debut 4 years in the past. He did play a career-high 110 video games in '22, however he batted .231 with a .601 OPS as his energy dwindled with 5 homers.

A swing change with hitting coach Joel McKeithan was beginning to take maintain simply earlier than he was injured final season. While standing much less vast, he went again to being taller within the batter's field and hovered his left foot off the bottom because the pitch arrived. It helped him acquire extra exit velocity.

Senzel felt these modifications succeeding whereas in Louisville.

"I think physically, mentally, it's the best I've felt," Senzel stated. "I think the injury, it gave me some time to iron some of that stuff out, mentality part. Physically, just having the time to ramp up and build up and get those rehab games was really important."

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