

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds activated a pair of starting position players and their closer from the injured list before Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners.
Second baseman Matt McLain, outfielder Austin Hays and closer Alexis Díaz were activated from the IL. The team also optioned outfielder Jacob Hurtubise and infielder Noelvi Marte after left-handed reliever Sam Moll was placed on the IL with a left shoulder impingement on Monday.
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McLain was activated on the first day he was eligible to return following a hamstring injury, while Hays and Díaz began the season on the injured list.
Both McLain and Hays are in Tuesday’s lineup, with McLain playing second base and batting second. Hays will DH and bat fifth.
Despite Díaz’s return to the roster, he will not be the closer right away, Reds manager Terry Francona said before Tuesday’s game.
“We’re going to pitch him when we think it makes sense,” Francona said. “And try, just like everybody, to put him in situations where he can succeed.”
For the time being, Emilio Pagán will continue to get the team’s save opportunities.
Francona said he’d like Díaz to get some game action before returning to the closer’s role.“I don’t think (closing) is probably fair to him or maybe to our team right now,” Francona said.
The Reds signed Hays to a one-year, $5 million contract this past offseason to help boost the team’s offensive production in the outfield. Hays had an excellent spring, hitting .310 and putting up an OPS of 1.010 in 16 games, but was put on the IL after feeling soreness in his left calf. A year ago, Hays started the season with a sore calf for the Orioles and struggled for much of the season. Hays played in three games at Triple-A Louisville on a rehab assignment, going 2-for-9 with a home run and a stolen base.
Díaz injured his left hamstring during spring training. Although he was able to pitch in Cactus League games, he struggled with his command. The team believed the injury threw his mechanics out of whack, and they used the time between the start of the season and now to rehab the injury and work on his mechanics. Díaz made five rehab appearances for Louisville, giving up three earned runs over five innings with eight strikeouts and four walks. In his final outing, he allowed a home run, but 14 of his 18 pitches were strikes.
McLain was put on the IL with a slight hamstring strain. McLain hit three home runs over the first five games of the season, but his hamstring sidelined him earlier this month before making a trip to the IL.
(Top photo of Díaz: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
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