The Cincinnati Reds have made a lot of roster moves for tonight’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Two of the moves are at the big league level. The team opted for Josh VanMeter on the alternative side at Prasco Park. Taking his place in the roster of the big leagues is outfielder Mark Payton. The team also sent Robel García from the taxi squad to Prasco Park and placed Judge José De León on the taxi squad.
There’s a lot going on here, so let’s dive a little deeper. With Mark Payton, he has been added to the roster of 40 men. While he was the Rule 5 team earlier this year, and should have stayed on the roster all season, when the team returned him to Oakland, that determination disappeared. The Reds traded for him a few weeks later, and now he is able to return completely without risking another team selecting him. At this point, there was an open spot on the 40-man roster, as Nick Senzel did not count if he was on it on the injured list. However, when he returns, the team will have to make a roster move to clear a spot on the 40-man squad.
For Payton, he will likely take the step in the left hand that was served by Josh VanMeter. Payton, who is also left-handed, has never played in the Major Leagues. Last season he really broke out in Triple-A, hitting .334 / .400 / .653 with 30 doubles, 3 triple jumps, and 30 home games in just 447 record appearances. While solid in Triple-A against left-handed pitchers, he rallied with right-handed pitchers to the tune of .357 / .417 / .697 last year in the minors.
When the road trip began for the Cincinnati Reds, they had no pitchers on their taxi squad, instead they went with five position players. They change that today, adding José De León to the taxi squad just in case. While he may not need to step in, if the team needs to add a pitcher in the pinch, they can do so now more easily than make a call to Cincinnati and book a flight to their destination overnight.
For Josh VanMeter, he’s back to Prasco Park. He’s been hitting the ball hard lately. But he still did not hit the ball often, and even when he hit it hard when he made contact, the results were simply not visible. The Reds decided it was time to give someone else a shot and try VanMeter to get things a little more straightforward in Mason at Prasco Park.
