What the Cincinnati Reds 2022 roster looks like entering ’20-21 offseason

The Reds 2022 roster has a few question marks.

Today, let’s take a way-too-early look at the Cincinnati Reds 2022 roster. I know, we haven’t even solidified the Reds 2021 Opening Day roster yet, but it’s always fun to look into the future, right? Who will still be with the team? What prospects might ascend to the majors? Who’ll be gone? Let’s unwrap some of these tantalizing questions.

Now, obviously we’re bound to make some mistakes with this projection, but isn’t that what general managers do all the time? That’s also the larger point, as Cincinnati fans are surely hoping that Nick Krall isn’t just focused on next season, but the newly appointed head of the Reds baseball operations department must keep one eye on the present and one on the future.

We saw this at the trade deadline back in 2019. While the Reds and Pirates were battling, quite literally, during a game at Great American Ball Park, Krall and former President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams were completing a trade that would send Yasiel Puig to Cleveland and Taylor Trammell to San Diego. That deal netted the Reds 2020 Cy Young-winner, Trevor Bauer.

Now, in this exercise we’re not going to project trades or free agent signings; that’s a fool’s errand. But, we will take a look at some of the team’s longterm investments, project where some high-level prospects might find themselves, and investigate which soon-to-be free agents may no longer be wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform.

We’re also going to operate under the assumption that given the team’s current financial constraints, we’re unlikely to see any major free agent signings, so don’t look for Didi Gregorius or Marcus Semien to find their way onto the Reds 2022 Opening Day roster. Are you ready? Let’s get to it.