Spring Newsbreak: The Ma-sty boys are DOA.Nick Masset will start the season on the DL. This opens up a spot for another reliever and would seem to make it that much more likely for Chapman to join the 'pen. Also, the Reds' roster was thinned out to 30. If you had any doubts about Meso and Hanigan being the catching tandem, this should assuage the hell out of them.
Jeff Francis may have shown himself out of a rotation spot, but he's not been any worse than Bronson Arroyo... over the last 13 months. Francis would be a worthy addition to the bullpen, if for no other reason than he rarely issues walks and gets ground balls. He could still spot-start as a middle/long reliever and might well be the best arm to shore up the bullpen short of Chapman, but I still think AAA is his most likely landing spot.
Bronson isn't going anywhere. No matter where you are on Earth, you are never more than 5 days and 12,450 miles from a Bronson Arroyo start. Despite his recent struggles and questionable health, the only thing that really sticks out about his workload from March 2011 onward is that he fell an inning short of 200 IP last season. It's an admirable work ethic, but I can't help but think he overdid it somewhere along the way.
We're going to be seeing Arroyo through rain, snow and torrential home runs, so he'd better get his mojo workin'. And try it out on the National League.