5 Reds who are in danger of losing their spot on the 40-man roster

Every spring, there are a handful of non-roster invitees who make a run and sneak their way onto a team's Opening Day roster. In order to do, however, the club must subtract players from its 40-man roster. Which Cincinnati Reds, currently on the team's 40-man roster, are in danger of losing their spot?

Over the past few seasons, we've seen players like José Iglesias, Derek Dietrich, Tyler Naquin, and Nate Jones go from non-roster invitee to the active roster. Players like Nick Lodolo and Aramis Garcia might be the latest in a line of non-roster invitees to break camp with the Reds.

But, a corresponding move must be made in order to add a player to the Opening Day roster. Players like Dauri Moreta or TJ Friedl have minor league options remaining, so it's easy just to send them down to Triple-A until they're needed. But others on the 40-man roster might not be so lucky.

Players in recent memory who've been designated for assignment or outright released prior to Opening Day include outfielder Scott Schebler and pitcher Edgar Garcia. Who may be joining them on that dubious list this spring?

1. Reds pitcher Ryan Hendrix could be DFA'd.

Ryan Hendrix made his long awaited major league debut in 2021, and after a couple nice outings, things seemed to fall apart for the former fifth-round pick. Hendrix enters the 2022 season squarely on the bubble, and if he doesn't impress over the next couple of weeks, the right-hander could be out of a job.

Hendrix has a nice mix of pitches, but the 27-year-old fell off a cliff last season. In 36 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen, Hendrix posted a 5.97 ERA, allowing 21 runs in 31.2 innings of work. Hendrix also walked 16 batters and surrendered eight round trippers.

Ryan Hendrix did record 35 strikeouts, so it's not as if he was a total disaster. However, after being sent back to Triple-A Louisville, he never returned to the big leagues despite how pitifully the Reds bullpen performed in 2021. In 16 games with the Louisville Bats, Hendrix went 0-1 with an 8.62 ERA, 15 punch outs, and an obscene nine free passes. That's not going to cut it.