Cincinnati Reds: 3 non-roster invitees who’ll make Opening Day lineup

1. Dee Strange-Gordon, Reds infielder

No non-roster invitee has a better chance to make the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster than Dee Strange-Gordon. With a wide-open hole at shortstop this spring Strange-Gordon is hoping to not only land a spot on the 26-man roster, but in the starting lineup.

Strange-Gordon has spent the last few seasons with the Seattle Mariners and became a free agent when the M’s declined his $14M team-option this past winter. After searching through the free agent market and potential trade scenarios, it appears as though Nick Krall and the Cincinnati front office feel that Strange-Gordon best fits what the team is looking for this season at shortstop.

While the addition definitely falls short of expectations, Strange-Gordon is a talented ballplayer that can certainly help the team this season. As it stands, I’d have to surmise that David Bell will look to a combination of Dee Strange-Gordon and Kyle Farmer at shortstop heading into the 2021 season.

Strange-Gordon has speed; granted not as much as he used to have back when he stole 122 bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014-2105 and went to back-to-back All-Star Games. Despite his numbers trending in the wrong direction, here’s one thing Strange-Gordon isn’t lacking, and that’s confidence. Here’s what former Gold Glove-winner had to say to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon:

“I played second base because that was the only way I could get to the big leagues at the time with the Dodgers. It was the only way I could break in and solidify myself as a big leaguer. [Shortstop] has always been my position. I’m just happy to finally get to play it or get the opportunity to play it.”

In 2021, given the talent around him, I’m content with the idea of Dee Strange-Gordon alternating with Kyle Farmer at shortstop so long as they’re just keeping the position warm for José García until he’s ready for major league pitching.

2. Cam Bedrosian, Reds right-handed pitcher

Outside of the starting shortstop position, the Reds biggest area of concern is likely the bullpen. With rosters sitting at 26 players heading into the 2021 season, I fell confident in saying that Cincinnati will likely head into Opening Day with at least eight relievers, and perhaps nine. Cam Bedrosian could be among them.

Taking a glance at the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster, I feel confident that at least six spots are assured among the relief corps. Amir Garrett and Lucas Sims will join Sean Doolittle in the back end with a Tejay Antone, Noé Ramirez, and José De León rounding out the other three spots.

That leaves two, and possibly three openings in the pen. Bedrosian will likely be in competition with the likes of Sal Romano and Jeff Hoffman for the final few spots. The group of Art Warren, Cionel Perez, Riley O’Brien, and Hector Perez all have minor-league options remaining, so unless they blow the coaching staff away, I’d expect all four to begin the season at Triple-A Louisville.

Cam Bedrosian is a seven-year veteran with a career-ERA of 3.70. Last season, in just 14 games, Bedrosian posted a 2.45 ERA and 2.92 FIP, his best numbers since his 45 appearances in 2016 with the Los Angeles Angels.

While Bedrosian’s velocity is about average according to Baseball Savant, his fastball spin is in the 75th percentile. Bedrosian is a three-pitch hurler who relies heavily on his fastball/ slider combination, but can mix in a splitter on occasion as well. I like Bedrosian’s chances of making the Opening Day roster in a bullpen filled with uncertainty.

3. Tyler Naquin, Reds outfielder

With David Bell proclaiming that Nick Senzel is his everyday centerfielder heading into the 2021 season, it would appear that four spots in the Cincinnati Reds outfield are solidified heading into the season. Senzel, Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama, and Jesse Winker have a stranglehold on four of the five outfield spots. Will Tyler Naquin snag the last one?

Naquin is a boom-or-bust type of player. The left-handed hitting outfielder can mash a baseball, as evidence by his hard-hit percentage (51.6) which ranked among the Top 7% last season according Baseball Savant. But his 3.5% walk-rate was among the bottom 3% in the league last year.

Tyler Naquin will be in a battle with another boom-or-bust type of player in Aristides Aquino. The Punisher hasn’t been able to sustain the level of production that made him a household name in August of 2019 when he took home NL Player of the Month honors.

From a defensive perspective, I’d lean towards Aquino seven days a week and twice on Sunday. Aquino has put in the work this offseason and is looking to emerge from a bench role and perhaps find a spot in the lineup on a more regular basis. That’ll be hard to do with the current roster of talented and highly-paid outfielders.

Tyler Naquin is far from a lock to make the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster, however, the 29-year-old has two minor league options remaining. I could envision a scenario where the Reds stash Naquin on the active roster for thee first couple of games and eventually option him to Triple-A Louisville.

This would allow the team to keep both Naquin and Aquino (who’s out of options) within the organization. In order to do so, Cincinnati could put together a bench of Aquino, Naquin, Akiyama/ Senzel, Tyler Stephenson, and Dee-Strange Gordon/ Kyle Farmer to begin the 2021 season. The Reds could also go light in the bullpen, but I don’t think that’s in the cards.