Earlier today, before the 4 PM deadline, the Cincinnati Reds announced their group of 60 players that they will return to Cincinnati for the major league season restart.
The first roster is 35 players who will join the “main” club in downtown Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park for Spring Training Part 2: Summer Camp. The second list is of 22 players who will report to Prasco Park in nearby Mason, Ohio, the site of the team’s “taxi squad”.
There are not a lot of surprises here. Aristides Aquino is starting at Mason and not with the main club, which was one of the biggest questions during spring training, part one. The most likely reason for that is the presence of Mark Payton, a Rule 5 draft pick. It is not incredibly clear to me how this works at the moment, but it is unlikely that Payton will be included in that “taxi squad” “without first being offered again to Athletics.
Derek Dietrich is also missing from each list, which is interesting. He is still in the organization:
Krall said Dietrich is still in the organization, but left it to keep the list flexible. Could be added later. #reds
– Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) June 28, 2020
Well then.
Other interesting names of note on Prasco’s list are Nick Lodolo, Tyler Stephenson, José García, Jonathan India and Stu Fairchild. None of them are likely to plan to help the Reds this season, but it should be good for development. At least they’ll still have access to the major league club and coaches in the absence of a minor league season.
Interestingly, Hunter Greene is not currently on the list, which is something Wick mentioned last week.
Also, you will notice that the total number of players only adds up to 57, so there are still some decisions to be made.
