Tuesday was one of the more hectic days of the Major League Baseball offseason, and the Cincinnati Reds were right in the thick of the action.
Eligible prospects had to be added to teams’ 40-man rosters by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place next month at the winter meetings. Cincinnati had three prospects it evidently didn’t want to risk losing.
Those three — shortstop Edwin Arroyo, outfielder Héctor Rodríguez and infielder Leonardo Balcazar — were all added to the 40-man roster, according to the official MLB transactions log. All three are reasonably well-regarded prospects who were worth keeping around as both depth and potential trade chips at the July deadline.
However, the Reds only entered the day with two open spots, so to make room for all three, someone had to be cut loose.
According to the transactions log, the odd man out was right-handed pitcher Carson Spiers, who was designated for assignment after three years on the big-league roster.
Spiers, 28, pitched to a 5.69 ERA in 29 games for the Reds overall, including nine earned runs allowed in just 13 1/3 innings this year. He still has two minor-league options, but after he spent most of this season on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, the Reds just felt they had more reliable depth pieces to keep around.
After 5 1/2 years in the Reds organization, Spiers will look to bring his talents elsewhere and make the most of a new opportunity. But Cincinnati has to feel like its roster is in good shape, and it will be interesting to see if any of the three new additions make a real impact at the big-league level this year.
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