Cincinnati Reds: 3 players who were strangely left off 40-man roster

The Reds left shortstop Alfredo Rodrigues unprotected.

This isn’t the first time that the Cincinnati Reds have left shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft. The No. 19 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline was left off the team’s 40-man roster last season. It’s curious, however, given the uncertainty of the shortstop position heading into 2021, that Cincinnati did not add Rodriguez to the roster.

Rodriguez isn’t the answer to the team’s lack of hitting, in fact, if Rodriguez were to join the big league squad in 2021, he may add to the woefully problematic issues at the plate. Rodriguez is a defense-first shortstop with with a plus-arm.

Hitting, on the other hand, is not Rodriguez’s strong suit. The 26-year-old has struggled throughout his career, but put up some quality numbers during the 2019 season. Playing over 100 games at Double-A Chattanooga, Rodriguez slashed .286/.325/.347. Rodriguez is not, nor has he ever been highly regarded for his power as his .310 career slugging percentage would suggest.

But, with the absence of a true shortstop on the roster, it’s curious that Nick Krall and the Reds brass left Alfredo Rodriguez off the team’s 40-man roster. I think we can all agree that José García, while talented, is a year or so away from being a key piece of the Cincinnati roster. Hopefully the Reds don’t regret leaving Rodriguez unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft.