3. Justin Dunn will sneak onto the Reds Opening Day roster by the skin of his teeth.
The last two spots in the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation will be up for grabs this spring. While Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Graham Ashcraft are all likely to get the ball every fifth day, several others will be competing for those last two spots.
Among them will be Justin Dunn. An injury kept the former Seattle Mariners pitcher out of action until August. Then, Dunn suffered another injury and only appeared in a handful of game. Over seven starts, Dunn earned a 6.10 ERA recorded just 21 strikeouts over 31 innings of work.
Dunn has a nice mix of pitches and would be a nice compliment at the backend of the Cincinnati rotation is he's fully recovered from the injuries that he incurred last season.
But, he won't have a clear path to spot on the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster. Connor Overton, Luke Weaver, and Luis Cessa will all be competing alongside Dunn to be part of the Reds starting rotation next season. Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt will be in the mix as well.
In the end, the Reds could always use Justin Dunn as a reliever as well, so there's multiple ways that the former first-round pick could find his way on the Opening Day roster. Still, sneaks onto the Reds roster, it'll be by the skin of teeth.