Cincinnati Reds

George Clooney has carved out a great career in Hollywood as an Oscar-winning actor, director and producer, but he once had a shot at a professional baseball career if not for one minor flaw in his athletic profile.

In an interview with Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline, Clooney revealed he had two different tryouts with the Cincinnati Reds that didn't go well.

"No, I just lacked skill. I had everything else," he said when asked if his athletic career ended because of an injury. I had a good hat, I had a good uniform. I just lacked the ability to play the game."

The biggest issue for Clooney was trying to hit off-speed stuff:

"Curveball got me. I remember I went out and basically they just care about speed and arm. They can teach you how to hit. So after the second year when I came back, I could throw pretty well and I was really fast and I got to finally make it the next round, which is to take batting practice. It's a minor league pitcher, and he's throwing me 82 mile an hour fastballs, down the middle. I've got a little 32-inch Louisville slugger. I was a leadoff hitter and I'm just poking those pitched all over the field. Just playing great. And I was like, I'm going to be playing with the Cincinnati Reds man. And this guy's looking at me like I'm an idiot. And I'm thinking, this is it, man.

"He throws an 82 mile an hour curveball, at my head. I literally fell backwards, and the ball ended up on the outside part of the plate, and everybody laughed. The sound it made and the movement on the ball, from a minor league pitcher… I was like, oh dude, I'm not going to be a professional baseball player. This is a different level. I didn't understand that until right then. But sports are so important to me. I still play a lot of hoops, and I have such great affection for the people who do it at a level that is insurmountable to most of us."

Clooney has talked about his failed attempt at a baseball career before. He told David Letterman on the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction in 2018 that his first tryout with the Reds came in 1977 when he was regarded as one of the nation's top high school players as a 16-year-old.

It was also bad timing for Clooney to try making it in the Reds organization. They were in the midst of the Big Red Machine era at that point, having won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.

If Clooney had come along in the past few years, when the Reds were routinely losing 95-100 games every season, perhaps they would have been willing to take a chance on a toolsy 16-year-old with the hope they could teach him to hit a breaking ball.

When the baseball dream ended, Clooney moved into acting a short time later. He earned his first film credit in 1983 as part of the ensemble for the horror film Grizzly II: Revenge that also featured Laura Dern and Charlie Sheen.

It feels as though the Cincinnati Reds have been engaged in trade talks for second baseman Jonathan India for the better part of the last six months and according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, those talks have only intensified since the team added Jeimer Candelario in free agency.

One team whose name has been all over free agency rumors, reports, and innuendo this offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays, appear to be one of those clubs interested in adding India to their roster, as reported by Canadian Baseball Net's Bob Elliott.

It has been a disappointing offseason for the Jays to this point, particularly after appearing to be so close to signing Shohei Ohtani, only to watch the greatest two-way player in baseball history ink a historic deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers instead.

The team is still in the hunt for 25-year-old righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto and has been linked to other free agents and trade chips this offseason, but the India deal makes the most sense of all of them.

The Jays have a need at second base. Whit Merrifield played some at the position in 2023, but is now a free agent. Cavan Biggio also saw time there and would likely be the incumbent if the season started today but neither he, nor Santiago Espinal, Davis Schneider, or any of the prospects in the farm system, should inspire a ton of confidence in the Blue Jays faithful.

India, on the other hand, is a quality second baseman who has played the position his entire career and is only a trade chip at this point because of a logjam of prospects coming up through the Reds’ farm system.

He has three years of arbitration left on his current deal and does not become a free agent until 2027, which would give the Jays plenty of time to establish stability at the position.

Offensively, India tallied 111 hits, 17 homers, 61 RBI, and 17 stolen bases in 2023, with a slash line of .244/.338/.407.

Defensively, he had a fielding percentage of .977, the highest of his career. He turned 69 double plays.

An asset offensively and defensively, at a position of need rather than want or one that grabs headlines like Ohtani would have, India is a must-add for a Blue Jays team that could use defensive assistance in the infield.

The Cincinnati Reds are reportedly still shopping second baseman Jonathan India.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that trade talks involving India "remain active" with multiple clubs after the team signed infielder Jeimer Candelario.

India has multiple seasons of control left as he is not set to hit free agency until after the 2026 season. He has played his entire career at second base, with some spot appearances as a designated hitter.

India is a career .244 hitter with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He was the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year and could be a solid addition to a team looking to solidify the second base position.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Reds are not guaranteed to trade India as the team likes his leadership capabilities, but the logjam in the infield is something Cincinnati will have to sort out. The Reds have Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer, India and now Candelario in the infield.

While Steer is expected to be moved to the outfield and India could be used as a designated hitter and potentially at first base or the outfield, selling high on him and bringing in a few prospects or adding pitching depth could be a solid option for a team looking to make a postseason push soon.

Looking to upgrade their pitching staff, the Cincinnati Reds are looking at multiple avenues to add a starter.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Reds are "active" in exploring free agency and the trade market with former AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber on their radar.

Morosi also noted Lucas Giolito and Michael Wacha are among the Reds free-agent options.

Coming off a promising 82-80 season, the Reds are looking to strike while their stock is trending in the right direction. They have already made one notable move this offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $45 million contract with Jeimer Candelario.

Adding Candelario could be the precursor to a trade because they had a logjam on the infield before giving him that deal. He joins a group that includes Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte, Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

Those six players are fighting for the four spots on the infield and at designated hitter. India has been talked about as a potential trade candidate, but Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall told reporters during the winter meetings they are "not looking to move him."

One potential solution could be having De La Cruz start next season in the minors to work on his plate discipline. He's only 21 and has a dazzling set of tools, but he also had a .300 on-base percentage and struck out 144 times in 427 plate appearances last season.

Bieber is the biggest name of the pitchers being targeted by the Reds. The Cleveland Guardians are always looking for ways to save money, and his estimated $12.2 million salary in arbitration might be more than they want to spend.

There are injury and/or performance concerns for all three pitchers connected to the Reds. Bieber has missed significant time in two of the past three seasons due to shoulder and elbow injuries. His decline in velocity last season made him much easier to hit, resulting in him posting the second-worst ERA of his career (3.80).

Giolito's 94 starts over the past three seasons are tied for sixth-most in MLB, but his 4.43 ERA during that span is tied for 85th out of 104 qualified pitchers.

Wacha might be the most reliable of the three pitchers at this point. He's started 47 games over the past two seasons, posting a 3.27 ERA with 228 strikeouts in 261.2 innings.

The Reds certainly need to come out of this offseason with one starter they can rely on for at least 150 innings. Graham Ashcraft was the only pitcher on the staff who threw more than 118 innings in 2023.

The Cincinnati Reds reportedly agreed to a contract with veteran third baseman Jeimer Candelario in free agency on Thursday.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Candelario and the Reds came to terms on a three-year, $45 million deal, continuing what has been a busy offseason for the organization.

After previous stints with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers, Candelario split last season between the Washington Nationals and Cubs, slashing .251/.336/.471 with a career-high 22 home runs and 70 RBI in 140 games.

The 30-year-old Candelario broke into the majors with the Cubs in 2016 before getting traded to the Tigers the following season.

He spent parts of six seasons with Detroit, signed with Washington for one year and got dealt to the Cubs at the trade deadline last season as a rental meant to help the Cubs reach the playoffs.

While Chicago fell short of the postseason, Candelario enjoyed a career year and parlayed it into a big contract with a team on the rise.

Cincinnati is stacked with young talent both offensively and in the pitching ranks, which is. a big reason why it exceeded expectations last season with an 82-80 record after losing 100 games the previous year.

Candelario has primarily played third base during his MLB career, but he has experience at first base as well, and it was his most played position with the Cubs, appearing in 21 games at first.

The Reds will have the luxury of playing him at either corner infield spot, but first base may prove to be his main position in Cincinnati as the replacement for potential future Hall of Famer Joey Votto, who the Reds opted against re-signing.

Candelario will bring a veteran presence to a lineup that has a chance to be one of the best in baseball in the near future, provided young stars like Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer and Matt McLain develop as hoped.

The Reds addressed their pitching earlier in free agency with the signings of Nick Martinez and Emilio Pagán, and now Candelario could prove to be the final piece of the offensive puzzle.