Cincinnati Reds: Three sleepers who could sneak onto the roster

1. Justin Shafer, Right-handed pitcher

Selected in the eight-round of the 2014 MLB Draft, Justin Shafer spent two seasons at the major league level playing for the Toronto Blue Jays before being dealt to the Cincinnati Reds this past fall. Shafer has a career-ERA of 3.75 in 40 relief appearances. With the majority of bullpen spots spoken for, Shafer must produce during camp in order to make the Opening Day roster.

It would appear as though six of the eight bullpen spots, barring injury or a trade, are all but locked up. Amir Garrett, Michael Lorenzen, Raisel Iglesias, Robert Stephenson, Pedro Strop and Lucas Sims would seem to have the inside track when it comes to a spot in the Reds bullpen. Pitchers like Cody Reed, José De León and Sal Romano are hoping to break through as well.

Shafer has two minor-league options remaining, so his inclusion on the 26-man roster is not imperative for him to remain with the club. In fact, it’s a safe bet with the likes of non-roster invitees Nate Jones, David Carpenter and Tyler Thornburg, that Shafer’s 2020 season is likely to start at Triple-A Louisville.

But don’t be so quick to cast aside the 27-year-old. Pitching for the. Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate last year, Shafer put up solid numbers with a 21.4% strikeout-rate and a 6.2% walk-rate according to FanGraphs. Unfortunately, those numbers didn’t carry over to the bigs. Shafer will need to keep his walks down after putting up a 13.7% walk-rate during his 34 games for Toronto last season.

A big spring is necessary for Justin Shafer to crack the Opening Day roster. If the right-hander can go toe-to-toe with some of the non-roster invitees, there’s an outside chance that Shafer could sneak onto the Reds roster. If not, he’ll be pitching out of the bullpen for the Bats when the Triple-A season gets underway.