So this was not about service time manipulation? Perhaps I was wrong but I thought waiting till now allowed them the ability to play those games (which is about money).

I don't know exactly what you're saying, but there isn't any significance from a service time perspective to him getting called up today vs 2 weeks ago. It wouldn't affect arb eligibility or free agency timing in any way.

Ok well then I’m a moron. Thanks for the confirmation.

I honestly think they're just afraid of calling a guy up before he's ready.

I honestly think Woo's just a moron

Both can be true

It's impossible to know whether it affects his free agency or arbitration until we know how many service time days he accrues next year. It depends on when the Reds would call him up. For example, on FA, the issue is whether he earns 172 days by the end of 2026. 2025 counts toward that.

So have to wait till next year to know for sure if I’m a moron not? Unbelievable

I don't think we have to wait that long...

Sure. I'm working under the assumption that Stewart is on the OD roster next year. There are certainly scenarios where this time can change his free agency date, but I was trying to keep it simple.

That's right. But given the way they've handled the roster this year, and their stated philosophy on power hitting, I don't know how we can have any confidence in that assumption.

That said, I don't think money influenced the timing. I think the Reds didn't want to cut anyone from their current roster. They viewed Santiago Espinal, for example, as more valuable the past couple weeks. Maybe because they don't plan to play Stewart as much as we think.

I also think they weren't sure where he'd play when he came up, given that he's at 1B today. Maybe they wanted to see him at 1B a couple of times (and NO MORE THAN A COUPLE OF TIMES) first? Honestly, I think this all stemmed from an unwillingness to send McLain down.