Cincinnati Reds: These players will get the final four spots on the roster

1. Cody Reed give the Reds another lefty out of the bullpen

Some people may have Cody Reed pegged as a lock, but I do not. Yes, it’s safe to assume that because Reed is the last remaining piece from the Johnny Cueto trade, the Reds have just one other left-hander (Amir Garrett) slated for the bullpen and he’s is out of options, the Memphis-native is certain to be on the 30-man roster. All those things are accurate, but Reed is not a lock.

Reed’s career-ERA of 5.42 and career-WHIP of 1.596 wouldn’t instill a lot of confidence in me if I were running the show. However, in his limited action last season, Cody Reed put up a 1.42 ERA through 6.1 innings of work and struck out seven batters. The lefty then suffered a knee injury and missed the remainder of the 2019 season.

This is Reed’s last chance. With Jesse Biddle reassigned to the alternate camp site yesterday, it’s safe to assume that the 28-year-old will not be part of Cincinnati’s Opening Day roster. I can’t see Josh D. Smith making the cut over Reed either. While there were times last season where David Bell went with just left-handed reliever, it wasn’t an ideal situation.

Cody Reed is a former second-round pick who has the talent to be a solid option for Bell out of the bullpen. Reed’s problem in the past has been his walk-rate, which dipped to an all-time low (4.0%) during his short stint at the bigs in 2019. While I don’t think it’s a guarantee, I’d say it’s a safe bet to include Cody Reed among those on the Opening Day roster.