Reds relief corps (10)
Pedro Strop (RHP), Lucas Sims (RHP), Michael Lorenzen (RHP), Cody Reed (LHP), Raisel Iglesias (RHP), Nate Jones (RHP), Tyler Mahle (RHP), Robert Stephenson (RHP), Tyler Thornburg (RHP) and Amir Garrett (LHP)
This group is likely to shift a lot in the coming weeks. Some players are virtual locks (Garrett, Stephenson and Lorenzen) to make the Reds roster, while others (Thornburg, Jones and Reed) will need to prove that they belong.
Pedro Strop, Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen will likely share closer duties during 2020. That three-headed monster should be a very imposing trio for opposing batters in the ninth inning. Amir Garrett may get the call late as well depending on the matchup.
Robert Stephenson finally broke through last season and asserted himself as a formidable pitcher out of the Reds bullpen. The former first-round pick had a career-high 30.9% strikeout-rate in 2019 and career-best walk rate of 9.2% according to FanGraphs.
The bullpen battle might be the fiercest of camp, with non-roster invitees R.J. Alaniz, Jesse Biddle, David Carpenter, Brooks Raley and Alex Powers looking to make the cut. Last year’s first-round pick, Nick Lodolo, is in the group set to get started at Prasco Park in Mason and could make some noise as well.
So, there you have it. With the 30-man rosters to begin the season, several players have the opportunity to make the team, an option that wasn’t afforded to them earlier this spring. The rosters will then shrink to 28 players after two weeks, and two weeks after that, teams can carry 26 players on the active roster for the remainder of the season.