The Reds’ brass finally caved in and promoted shortstop Zack Cozart from Triple A Louisville. He is expected to join the team tonight in Milwaukee. No official move has been made as of yet, but one is expected before tonight's game.

The former 9th-Round pick was added to the 40-man roster this offseason after a promising 2010 campaign that saw set career highs with 17 HR, 67 RBI, 30 doubles and 30 while leading the International League in fielding.

He was one of four Reds named to the International League All-Star Team last week. Cozart is currently hitting .310 with .825 OPS, 26 doubles, 7 HR, 32 RBI, and 9 SB. He enjoyed a torrid June where he batted .347 with 14 multi-hit games.  He has been in a mired in a bit of a slump of late (.150 in July).

Defensively, he hasn’t been sharp this season with 10 errors already to his credit.

After getting next to nothing out of Paul Janish and Edgar Renteria, the Reds had no choice. Did they wait too long?

The duo has combined to hit .227, 1 HR (barely cleared GABP fence last week), 32 RBI and score 33 runs in 489 at bats. In addition, the defense has been mediocre with the two contributing 17 errors and a .960 fielding percentage (an error about 4 percent of the time).

The ceiling of measurement for Cozart’s success and ability to improve the Reds is extremely low and the upside is definitely there.

MLB cincinnati reds, zack cozart, paul janish, edgar renteria