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:
- Aaron Harang
- Bronson Arroyo
- Matt Belisle
- David Weathers
- Jeremy Affeldt
- Josh Fogg
- Jared Burton
- Francisco Cordero
- David Ross
- Javier Valentin
- Scott Hatteberg
- Brandon Phillips
- Adam Dunn
- Ryan Freel
- Corey Patterson
- Ken Griffey Jr.
- Juan Castro
- Edwin Encarnacion
- Edinson Volquez
- Homer Bailey
- Bill Bray
- Todd Coffey
- Mike Stanton
- Gary Majewski
- Joey Votto
- Jeff Keppinger
- Norris Hopper
- Johnny Cueto
- Josh Roenicke
- Kent Mercker
- Brad Salmon
- Scott Sauerbeck
- Paul Bako
- Jerry Gil
- Jerry Hairston Jr.
- Andy Phillips
- Adam Rosales
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.