Cincinnati Reds: Three players in danger of being cut from 28-man roster

1. Brooks Raley, Reds relief pitcher

Brooks Raley hadn’t played in the majors in some time. The 2013 season was the last time that Raley had seen action in the big leagues until he made an appearance in Cincinnati’s Opening Day win over the Detroit Tigers. Raley pitched one inning of scoreless baseball, striking out one batter. Since then, he’s been anything but spectacular.

Raley entered a game in relief of Tejay Antone last Monday against the Chicago Cubs. Raley went two innings, gave up three hits and one earned run while striking out four batters. That wasn’t a terrible showing, especially considering how awful the Reds bullpen has been over the first two weeks of the season.

But, Raley’s third outing left a lot to the imagination. The left-hander came in relief of the brilliant performance of Sonny Gray on July 29th, but was one of the biggest culprits in allowing the Cubs back into the game. Raley didn’t record a single out, allowed two hits, walked two batters, hit another and gave up three earned runs.

Raley hasn’t been the worst reliever in the Cincinnati bullpen, and the fact that he’s a lefty bodes well for the former sixth-round pick. It’s a good bet that at least one of the two players who’ll be taken off the roster will be a pitcher. Raley is in that group, but there are a lot of others who’ll be looked at as well.