Jose Barrero's talent outweighs a trip to the 60-day IL

The Cincinnati Reds have received some positive news on the injury front of late. Lucas Sims returned to the active roster after missing the first two weeks of the season, and Tyler Naquin is back after an illness put him on the IL for several days.

One area of concern, however, has to be the Reds infield. While the team is hopeful to have Jonathan India return to the lineup on Tuesday, Cincinnati is still without Max Schrock, Mike Moustakas, Donovan Solano, and Jose Barrero.

Barrero is an interesting case, as the 24-year-old underwent surgery to repair a broken hook of the hamate bone in his left wrist. Typical return from an injury like that is six weeks, and yet the Reds have not placed Barrero on the 60-day. Why?

The Reds have no plans to place Jose Barrero on the 60-day IL.

According to Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell, the team had discussions about placing Jose Barrero on the 60-day IL but feel as though he'll "beat it (60-day minimum stay) by a couple of weeks.”

Adding a player to the 60-day IL is oftentimes a last resort or a way to manipulate the roster. Once a player lands on the 60-IL his spot on the 40-man roster is temporarily vacated. The drawback, however, is that a player must remain on the Injured List for a minimum of 60 days.

Had the Reds chosen to park Barrero on the 60-day IL, it would have been at least the first week of June before the young shortstop could have returned to the field. As it stands now, we could see Barrero back in the Reds lineup shortly after Mother's Day.

Barreo will be a key player for the Reds, not only this season, but in the years to come. The team's top infield prospect from last year was expected to compete with Kyle Farmer during spring training to see who would be the Reds starting shortstop in 2022.

Farmer obviously has proven himself to be a capable shortstop at the big league level, and the veteran has been one of the few bright spot for Cincinnati early on. Still, Barrero's ceiling is very high, and fans should expect to see him early and often when the Cuban is fully healed from his injury.

Jose Barrero suffered the injury prior to spring training and you have to assume that the recovery from the injury would have been much different had players and teams been able to have contact over the winter. MLB's lockout prevented that.

Barrero's immense talent and potential is what prevented the Cincinnati Reds from placing the infielder on the 60-day Injured List. Aristides Aquino suffered the same injury last season and was placed on the 60-day IL.