Cincinnati Reds Dugout: What Will They Do With Edwin Encarnacion?

With Edwin Encarnacion almost ready to come off the Disabled List, Dusty and the rest of the Brass will have some big decisions to make.

Edwin is not off to a spectacular start, hitting only .127 with 1 HR and 6 knocked in. In his 19 games he has already committed three errors.

Adam Rosales gets a passing grade for filling in at the hot corner.  He lacks the power that Edwin has but makes up for it with a little better average. He probably needs a little more polish at Louisville before he makes a complete transition.

Jerry Hairston is a possibility at third. He has only played that position in 23 games in his major league career.  He hasn’t really done that well either.  He has a fielding percentage of only .935 when he does play there.

Paul Janish hasn’t done much time at third either.  He has only handled the ball there three times in errorless fashion.  He also is batting right at .300 so far.

Alex Gonzalez has never played anything but SS his entire 11 year career. He is not doing that well offensively either.  He could very well be fighting for his starting job at shortstop.

Here are my thoughts.  Hairston is an everyday player, and when he gets on base he is trouble for the pitcher.  He has enough pop in his bat to say that he is a possibility to go yard at any time.  He is also second only to Willy Taveras in steals on the club.  He needs to be in the lineup, so I say we put him at third. 

Someone has to go down to Louisville for Edwin to be activated.  I would send Rosales and keep a close eye on him with the Bats.  I would look to make a trade for Edwin, he could bring some value as he is a decent home run hitter and he also is only 26 years old.

Your thoughts?