3 recently non-tendered players the Reds should sign immediately

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The non-tender deadline has come and gone. The Cincinnati Reds decided to part ways with Nick Senzel, Reiver Sanmartin, and Derek Law and the roster now stands at 37.

But other teams made some tough decisions as well which resulted in several talented players becoming free agents.

With three vacancies on the 40-man roster the Reds have plenty of room to make some additions. Which three recently non-tendered players should the Reds should sign immediately?

1. The Reds should sign former Mets RHP Jeff Brigham

The Cincinnati Reds bullpen was the team's biggest asset at times last season. There were also instances when it was the team's biggest weakness. The lack of consistency was due to the increased workload following some slow starts from the rotation.

While the hope is that Cincinnati will address the rotation in some way this offseason, adding some reinforcements to the relief corps is essential as well. After non-tendering Derek Law, the Reds are clearly signally the need for an upgrade in the bullpen.

Jeff Brigham is not afraid to throw strikes. The past two seasons, according to FanGraphs, the right-hander has posted a strikeout-rate above 25-percent. While Brigham's numbers from 2023 aren't the best, the right-hander had a solid showing in 2022.

Unfortunately, it was the home run more than anything else that haunted Brigham last season. The former New York Mets reliever allowed nine balls to leave the yard over the course of 37.2 innings of work. The 2.15 home runs per nine innings pitched is a horrific number, but it's a bit of an outlier.

The Cincinnati Reds need to add relievers this offseason. Jeff Brigham would be a nice place to start. Brigham still has several years of team control and could be used as a middle reliever coming out of the Reds bullpen.

2. The Reds should sign former Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff

Admittedly, Brandon Woodruff comes with a huge red flag - he may not be available to pitch in 2024. While Woodruff has high aspirations of returning from shoulder surgery after the All-Star break, there is a strong chance that the All-Star pitcher does not return until 2025.

Can the Cincinnati Reds really afford to take on that kind of risk? Given that the club has little payroll commitment going into 2024, the answer is, yes. However, the Reds would have to craft the contract very carefully.

There's two ways to go about this. First, the Reds could sign Woodruff to a two-year contract below-market value. Seeing as how the former Milwaukee Brewers hurler would have received an estimated $11-million through arbitration (per MLB Trade Rumors), but could fetch an average annual value of 20-million per season if healthy, there's some wiggle room.

Or, Cincinnati could follow the Boston Red Sox philosophy from two years when they signed James Paxton to a one-year deal with a team-option. Paxton was coming off Tommy John surgery.

Either deal comes with a measure of risk, and the club would be paying a lot of money for a player who's unlikely to suit up next season. But Woodruff would be one of the most coveted starters on the market if he were healthy. This would be a shrewd pickup by the Reds front office.

3. The Reds should sign former Padres LHP Tim Hill

The San Diego Padres were active at the non-tender deadline on Friday. The Friars traded Scott Barlow and also parted ways with longtime catcher Austin Nola and left-handed reliever Tim Hill. The southpaw is not your traditional relief pitcher.

Hill is a side-arm slinger. The 33-year-old, who's also played for the Kansas City Royals, has a nontraditional delivery and Hill is not going to get a lot of swings and misses. Instead, the left-hander relies on weak contact.

According to Baseball Savant, Hill's heater averages just 89.6 mph, which placed among among the sixth-percentile in the league. But velocity has never been the key to getting outs for Hill. The lefty kept the ball on the ground in 2023 and the kept free runners off the base paths.

Hill posted a ground ball-rate of 63.5-percent and a walk-rate of 6.9-percent. Several Reds relievers, including two of their best (Lucas Sims and Alexis Diaz), would get a bit careless at times and walk too many batters.

Despite the fact he was going to miss most of the 2024, the Cincinnati Reds do lose some left-handed depth in the bullpen by non-tendering Reiver Sanmartin. While Sam Moll was affective, Alex Young had reverse splits.

Adding another left-handed reliever should be a priority for the Reds' front office this winter, and Tim Hill represents a terrific upgrade for the Cincinnati bullpen.

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