Ok, after hearing about the Patterson signing and briefly considering becoming a general Cleveland sports fan (it's been a bad few days for the Bengals too), I started thinking about the 25 man roster and how I have little clue on how it's going to look on Opening Day. Here are, in my opinion, the absolute rock solid, guaranteed to be here players, barring trades or injuries:

1. Aaron Harang
   
2. Bronson Arroyo
   
3. Matt Belisle
   
4. David Weathers
   
5. Jeremy Affeldt
   
6. Josh Fogg
   
7. Jared Burton
   
8. Francisco Cordero
   
9. David Ross
   
10. Javier Valentin
    
11. Scott Hatteberg
    
12. Brandon Phillips
    
13. Adam Dunn
    
14. Ryan Freel
    
15. Corey Patterson
    
16. Ken Griffey Jr.
    
17. Juan Castro
    
18. Edwin Encarnacion

Ok, so that's 18 players (I'm not going to count Alex Gonzalez because of his injury). I know some might argue with me on some of the above (Castro?), but I don't see any reason to believe any of the above won't be on the 25 man come Opening Day, unless they are injured or traded. Now here are the players that one could reasonably assume will make the roster:

19. Edinson Volquez
    
20. Homer Bailey
    
21. Bill Bray
    
22. Todd Coffey
    
23. Mike Stanton
    
24. Gary Majewski
    
25. Joey Votto
    
26. Jeff Keppinger
    
27. Norris Hopper

Any of the above 27 players would surprise me, at least a little, if they were to be cut. And we haven't even discussed guys like:

28. Johnny Cueto
    
29. Josh Roenicke
    
30. Kent Mercker
    
31. Brad Salmon
    
32. Scott Sauerbeck
    
33. Paul Bako
    
34. Jerry Gil
    
35. Jerry Hairston Jr.
    
36. Andy Phillips
    
37. Adam Rosales

And finally,

38. Jay Bruce

All of the players in the last group either have major league experience, major prospect cred, or have been talked up by Dusty Baker already in Spring Training. Any of that final group, in a normal year, could make the team without shocking me.

I know it's cliche to say after a signing that you expect a forthcoming trade, but I don't see how this roster shakes out without getting rid of some players, or sending a bunch of players to AAA that we all want to see in Cincinnati come Opening Day.

It's amazing how the signing of one player can really put a damper on things. And just wait until they sign Neifi, once his suspension is over and Juan Castro inevitably gets hurt.