Cody Reed flashed his upside for three innings against the San Diego Padres on MLB Network Monday night, got roughed up when finally facing their lineup a second time through, and got word Tuesday afternoon that he'd been cut from Cincinnati Reds camp.
#reds cut 4 players -- LHP Cody Reed, RHP Layne Somsen, 1B/OF Brandon Allen, RHP A.J. Morris. Down to 40 players
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) March 22, 2016
It's only a surprising move if you consider how effective he'd been in Cactus League starts so far this year, since in reality we're talking about a guy who started the 2015 season in high-A Wilmington in the Carolina League and has still not ever thrown a pitch in AAA. Yes, he'd dazzled for 8 scoreless innings to begin his time with the Reds this Spring, but it appears his time with the big league club this spring will end with him having posted a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 IP.
As Doug Gray noted, it's a prudent move for the Reds, since Reed's not yet even on the 40-man roster and there's no reason to begin his service clock this early in a rebuilding season. It also signals that the presumed favorites for spots in the starting rotation (Anthony DeSclafani, Raisel Iglesias, Jon Moscot, Brandon Finnegan, and Alfredo Simon) have almost certainly locked down those spots.
Regarding the others, Layne Somsen's the only somewhat surprising name, since he'd been effective through much of Cactus League play before being thoroughly knocked around last night. Brandon Allen was easily behind Adam Duvall in the backup corner IF pecking order, and A.J. Morris struggled to show he was ready for a bullpen role in limited time this spring.
That leaves 40 guys still in camp competing for spots on the Opening Day 25-man roster.