Cincinnati Reds: Three players who could benefit from expanded rosters

Expanded rosters could be a possibility this coming season. Which three Cincinnati Reds players would benefit the most if expanded rosters become a reality?

When will the 2020 baseball season start? As of right now, Opening Day has been postponed until at least mid-May, but early-June might be more realistic with a later start date still a possibility. Regardless of when the season starts, Major League Baseball is committed to playing as many games as possible. The Cincinnati Reds will need reinforcements.

The possibility of a shorten-season definitely exists. Will it be 100 games? 81 games? A 50-game race to the postseason? Who knows. What we do know is that, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball is hopeful to play a full season. How they’ll do that remains to be seen, but if doubleheaders are part of the discussion, then teams will need more players.

Typically, when a doubleheader is played, a team’s roster expands by one player, usually a pitcher. Last year, you would’ve seen rosters go from 25 to 26. With the additional player added to the active roster effective this season, rosters would now expand from 26 to 27 on the day of a doubleheader.

Given that off days may be few and far between and weekly doubleheaders part of the 2020 schedule, there’s a good chance that MLB will expand rosters for this season only. Dick Williams noted, via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, that there’s a possibility of expanded rosters once the season gets underway. Which three Reds players would benefit from more roster spots?

1. Tyler Mahle, Right-handed pitcher

The biggest winner if rosters are expanded would be Tyler Mahle. A starter last season, Mahle was essentially replaced in the rotation by Wade Miley, a left-hander who signed a two-year/$15M contract this offseason. Multiple doubleheaders would mean the need for an additional starter and Mahle certainly fits the bill.

The Cincinnati Reds have arguably one of the best starting rotations heading into the 2020 season. Cy Young candidates Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray are coming off All-Star seasons and former All-Star Trevor Bauer is looking to regain the form that saw him compete for the AL Cy Young in 2018.

Anthony DeSclafani is cemented as one of the five starting pitchers following a solid 2019 campaign, and Miley will grab one of the five spots as well. The thought going into camp was that Mahle, who has two minor-league options remaining, would begin the season at Triple-A Louisville. If the rosters expand, that may not be the case.

Mahle has been a highly-touted prospect for the Reds and despite last season’s 3-12 record, the right-hander showed improvement from his 2018 rookie season. According to FanGraphs, Mahle saw his roundball-rate increase from 38.7% to 48.0%. Mahle’s strikeout-rate also jumped from 21.7% to 23.1% and his walk-rate dropped from 10.4% to 6.1%.

Tyler Mahle may not have ace-potential, but he easily profiles as a mid-rotation starter. Mahle went away from his changeup last season and we saw him become much more reliant on his curveball. The key to Mahle’s success in the big leagues will be keeping the ball in thee ballpark, as last season, in 25 starts, Mahle surrendered 25 round-trippers.

3. Derek Dietrich, Infielder

While an additional relief pitcher could be advantageous, should the rosters expand, Derek Dietrich  may have an outside shot to make the squad. I think Dietrich’s chances of making the team are better than 50% without an additional spot or two, but if the rosters are expanded, Dietz chances of making the Opening Day roster really increase.

Yes, we all know about Dietrich’s fall from grace last summer. After an explosive start to the 2019 season, Dietrich fell apart after May and found himself as little more than a bench bat who had fewer singles (18) than he did hit-by-pitches (25).

Still, Dietrich has ridiculous power from the left-side and finished third on the team in home runs despite over 300 fewer plate appearances (306) than the team leader, Eugenio Suárez (662). Dietz hit 19 homers and put up a .790 OPS.

The likely recovery of Suárez, thanks to the delayed start to the 2020 season, may put Dietrich’s chances in jeopardy. Josh VanMeter had outplayed Dietrich during Cactus League play, and despite having minor-league options remaining, deserves a spot on the club over the former Miami Marlin.

That said, if a few additional spots exist, Derek Dietrich should be considered. It was obvious that Dietrich’s attempt to play through injury last season was partly to blame for his poor performance down the stretch. Dietz brings fun to the clubhouse and is the ultimate team player, something that can’t be understated and may be very necessary in a condensed season.