Cincinnati Reds: Predicting 30-man roster with summer camp underway

Who will make the Reds 2020 Opening Day roster?

We’re inching closer to the 2020 season, so it feels fitting to offer our second crack at predicting the Cincinnati Reds roster. Each team’s roster will expand to 30 players to start the season, but will shrink to 28 and then eventually 26. About a week ago, we predicted which 30 players would make the cut. With a little more information, how much will those predictions change?

Not much has changed since our last prediction, but the picture is becoming a bit clearer. To this point, Cincinnati has yet to place any player on the injured list, which is a good sign. That said, the Reds have enough depth in both their starting lineup and starting rotation to absorb the loss of a player or two. The bullpen, however, is a bit thin.

After spending $166M this past offseason, we have a pretty good idea of the top-level players who’ll grace the field at Great American Ball Park on July 24th. However, looking at the bench and bullpen, the Reds coaching staff might have to intensify their scrutiny when it comes to who’ll make the cut.

A few different factors are at work in this shortened 2020 season. What will team’s value in terms of their bench? Will some of the new rules (three-batter minimum, extra innings begin with a runner on second base, etc.) affect which players get cut? Will we see any rookies among on the Opening Day roster? Let’s take a look at our roster projections version 2.0.