Cincinnati Reds: 3 players who should be non-tendered this offseason

3. R.J. Alaniz, Reds pitcher

I think the remainder of the Cincinnati Reds players who arbitration-eligible this offseason will be on the team once spring training rolls around. There’s an outside chance that a player like Curt Casali or Jesse Winker is traded this winter, but I fully expect both to be tendered a contract before the December 2nd deadline.

That brings us to the group of individuals who are pre-arbitration eligible. These players have fewer than three years of major league experience and will receive the league minimum this coming year. R.J. Alaniz is currently on the Reds 40-man roster, but I doubt that will be the case come December 3rd.

Ridding themselves of Matt Davidson, Travis Jankowski and Jesse Biddle, the Cincinnati Reds now have 37 players on their 40-man roster. Matt Bowman was also outrighted, but was on the injured list so he didn’t count against the team’s 40-man roster.

The Reds also have three free agents in Trevor Bauer, Tyler Thornburg and Freddy Galvis. Nick Castellanos can opt out of his contract as well. In short, after the World Series, the Reds 40-man roster could stand at 35 and perhaps even 34 players (Thornburg is currently on the 60-day injured list as well).

So why bump R.J. Alaniz from the 40-man roster? For starters, his 9.19 career-ERA is nothing spectacular. Second, the Cincinnati Reds may well add a free agent or two, plus the likes of Vladimir Gutierrez, Jared Solomon, TJ Friedl and Riley O’Brien would need to be added to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

Alaniz may not be the only pre-arbitration player at risk of losing his spot. Joel Kuhnel, José De León, Sal Romano and Mark Payton may also be on the chopping block. Cincinnati Reds fans will eagerly be anticipating the December 2nd deadline when major league teams must tender offers.