Reds set Opening Day roster

The Reds had a hectic Tuesday, and when all of the dust settled, we were left with a preliminary 25-man roster that the team will expect to start the season with. There still could be some movement as other teams make their cuts and the Reds find another interesting name on the waiver wire, but as of right now, the 25-man looks to be set.

Starters (8)

Joey Votto
Jose Peraza
Zack Cozart
Eugenio Suarez
Adam Duvall
Billy Hamilton
Scott Schebler
Tucker Barnhart

No real surprises here. If you’ve been following this space, you know that Devin Mesoraco won’t be ready to start the year, and everyone else had their spot locked up long before today. The only real wild card here is Cozart, who could fill a need for a team at some point during the year, but for right now, he’s the everyday guy.

Bench (4)

Stuart Turner
Arismendy Alcantara
Patrick Kivlehan
Scooter Gennett

The Reds have been talking about a 4-man bench for a few days now, and it looks all but solidified. Turner earned his spot with an impressive spring as a Rule 5 pick, and Kivlehan showed an ability to play all around the diamond, and his versatility was likely a priority for the Reds’ shorthanded bench. Gennett is the wild card here, as the Reds were expecting to use Desmond Jennings in that reserve outfielder spot.

Rotation (4)

Scott Feldman
Brandon Finnegan
Rookie Davis
Amir Garrett

This is probably the most surprising development of the day, as Garrett and Davis both make the rotation after impressing in Arizona. Bronson Arroyo has a minor league start on Sunday that will decide his fate, but as long as all goes well, he’ll be the team’s 5th starter when the time comes.

Bullpen (9)

Drew Storen
Blake Wood
Michael Lorenzen
Raisel Iglesias
Tony Cingrani
Robert Stephenson
Cody Reed
Wandy Peralta
Barrett Astin

This is the bullpen the Reds will start the season with, and it’s a doozy with a lot of interesting moves there. Stephenson and Reed are both there (hopefully) temporarily, as they figure out how to adjust to big-league adversity. They’ll need all the arms down there they can get with the patchwork rotation, so it’s probably good that they have 5 pitchers who have started games in the big leagues to eat bullpen innings when the time comes.

What do you think of the Reds’ strategy?