Reds infielder makes surprise move to mound to become a knuckleballer

After signing a minor-league deal with the Cincinnati Reds this offseason, infielder Alex Blandino is now looking to reinvent his career as a knuckleballer.

“Blandino debuted in MLB as an infielder,” according to a translated post from Fernando Rayo, a reporter with a television station in Nicaragua, Blandino’s home country. “After a retirement and reappearing in the WBC (World Baseball Classic) with Nicaragua, he’s now become a knuckle pitcher and will start in Double-A.”

Blandino has been useful in the major leagues at a number of infield spots. He has a career fielding percentage of.976 in 107 games for the Reds in 2018, 2019, and 2021. To give you an idea, the league fielding percentage during that time was.981.

But he’s had a hard time hitting in Major League Baseball, going.226/.339/.291 in 234 at-bats over the last three seasons. He went back to Triple-A in 2022 and played in the WBC that year, but he wasn’t signed until he signed with the Reds.

Now Blandino will try to change his career by building on the 4.2 innings of throwing experience he got with the Reds in 2018 and 2021.

For 2018, Blandino won the Pitching Ninja award for best pitch by a position player. He has also shown that he can throw a fastball at 90 mph. If he can learn to throw a knuckleball well, he will be able to get back to the major leagues.

“Knuckleballers are a unique breed and don’t always need strong velocity to succeed, but Blandino’s ability to hit 90 mph doesn’t hurt,” MLB Trade Rumors noted. “But on the other hand, it’s unclear if he could maintain that kind of velocity while pitching on a regular basis over a full season.”

It’s becoming more normal for position players to take the mound when pitchers lower their pitch count. But it’s not often that someone goes from playing infield to throwing full-time. But good hurlers like Sean Doolittle, Jacob deGrom, and Kenley Jansen all moved up from position jobs very early in their careers.

It doesn’t look like Blandino will be able to make the same change, but the Reds are hoping that he can bring his career back to life by throwing the ball.