2 Reds minor leaguers in danger of losing their 40-man roster spot and 1 who will remain

Reds minor leaguer Art Warren is likely to keep his roster spot.

It may be a bit unfair to call Art Warren a minor leaguer, but the fact of the matter is that his performance was so bad in the majors this season, Cincinnati had no choice but to option the Ohio native to Triple-A earlier this month.

But it's too early to just give up Warren having a bounce-back season in 2023. Warren is under team control through the 2027 season and is still pre-arbitration eligible. Unlike the aforementioned Ryan Hendrix and Jared Solomon, Warren has had previous success in the big leagues.

Warren was expected to be a key piece at the backend of David Bell's bullpen this season. Along with Tony Santillan, Hunter Strickland, and Lucas Sims, the quartet was supposed to be a talented group of reliable relievers. But here we are at the end of the season and the unquestioned closer for the Cincinnati Reds is Alexis Diaz.

Still, Warren could serve a valuable role on the Reds next season, and there's no reason for Cincinnati to cut the right-hander lose because of one bad season. Relievers are notoriously inconsistent from year to year and Warren did have a 24.2% strikeout-rate this season. The problem, as it was for so many of Cincinnati's pitchers, was the high walk-rate (13.3%).

Art Warren is one year removed from putting up a 1.29 ERA and 34 punch outs over 21 innings. That's not the type of talent that a team should so readily move on from. Look for Warren to be back next season, but he could be on a very short leash.