'I guess it's my time now': Passport scramble precedes Aguiar's debut in Canada

TORONTO -- Getting Julian Aguiar to Canada was easy. The hard part was getting his passport to Omaha.

Aguiar’s first big league steps were taken north of the border, in the Reds’ 6-3 win over the Blue Jays on Monday evening. His dash to Rogers Centre started way earlier, though, when Triple-A Louisville manager Pat Kelly asked for a word during the Bats’ road series against the Storm Chasers in Nebraska.

“He’s like, ‘Hey, is there anybody who can get your passport over here?’” Aguiar, the Reds’ No. 11 prospect, said after his big league debut. “I’m like, ‘What do I need my passport for?’ Then I look at the Reds’ schedule and: international. I’m like, ‘OK, I guess it’s my time now.’”

Thus began the race. Aguiar’s fiancée, Natalia, flew from their native California out to Nebraska with his precious passport. From there, Aguiar headed to Cincinnati before flying to Toronto. All of it happened amid endless texts and calls from loved ones, body shakes and “lots of smiles.”

Coming onto the field for his pregame routine, Aguiar took the time to spot Natalia and a handful of family members in the crowd, smiling and waving as they cheered from the stands. Once he stepped on the mound, though, Aguiar made sure to take a deep breath. There was no reason to rush anymore. It was his time now.

“It was crazy -- being in the dome, as soon as they opened it up, it’s like, ‘Wow, it's a [much] bigger stage here,’” said Aguiar. “Blessing, dream come true. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

His first few steps in the big leagues were short but confident, stumbles included.

Aguiar struck out two hitters in four innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits and one walk with a wild pitch and a hit batter on 57 pitches. His “welcome to the big leagues” moment didn’t take long, either, as a hanging slider in the first inning turned into a massive homer by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

When asked about it afterward, Aguiar kept his youthful smile intact.

“I looked back, that ball was long gone,” said Aguiar. “It was a good one. Glad I gave my first one up to him. Great experience to get it out of the way.”

That’s a veteran response with the excitement of a youngster. Aguiar has always walked that line.

“He has grown into this really quiet, very observing young adult -- very responsible and respectful,” said Elizabeth Aguiar, Julian’s aunt. “ … Just a down-to-earth kid. [But] when he comes over, he doesn’t hang out with the adults. He goes outside and plays baseball with the kids. Yeah, he’s a big kid.”

You could see both sides of him right away.

Aguiar’s promotion came on the heels of some tough news, as the Reds placed Hunter Greene on the 15-day IL with right elbow soreness on Saturday. It wasn’t the most fortunate way to get your first chance, but Aguiar and the Reds took it. The 23-year-old rookie did enough to warrant another look.

“He came in, threw strikes, didn’t back down at all -- just everything we know about him,” said manager David Bell. “You never know what you’re going to get your first time out … but he did exactly what we wanted to see.”

The Reds are familiar with Aguiar, who spent time in big league camp this year and pitched well in the Reds’ Spring Breakout win over the Rangers. But Cincinnati now gets to assess how close its 2023 Minor League Pitcher of the Year is to joining its core of young starters full-time.

No surprises so far. Aguiar relied heavily on his sinker against a Blue Jays lineup that doesn’t offer a ton of swings and misses to begin with. He stayed away from the slider after that Guerrero homer, but the changeup turned out to be a sneaky good secondary pitch.

He’s already mapping out ways to improve for the next one.

“Continue to attack the zone, get to two strikes early,” said Aguiar. “When I get to two strikes, put them away. Minimal pitches, punch them out.”

There’s that businesslike demeanor taking over.

This is still a wait-and-see process for the Reds. Per Bell and president of baseball ops Nick Krall, Greene seems to have avoided a more serious issue with his elbow, and he should return to the rotation soon as the club continues its pursuit of an NL Wild Card berth.

For now, though, Aguiar can savor the moment with his loved ones.

“At first, people said, ‘It’ll be difficult for him to achieve this,’” Aguiar’s grandmother, Gloria Aguiar, said in Spanish. “But I watched him and he was so dedicated, so constant with it. All I could think was, ‘He’s going to make it.’ And he did.”