Reds news: Bubba Thompson claimed, Austin Wynns outrighted

The Cincinnati Reds made a series of transactions on Thursday. After shelling out over $100 million in salary to their five major league free agent signings, these moves were a bit more minor in scale.

The Reds completed the trade with the San Francisco Giants for TJ Hopkins. Cincinnati designated the outfielder for assignment after signing Austin Wynns to a two-way contract earlier this offseason. The Reds received cash in order to finalize the deal.

The Reds also lost Bubba Thompson to the New York Yankees. The speedster was DFA'd after Buck Farmer re-signed just last week. The aforementioned Wynns was cut loose after Cincinnati came to terms with free agent starter Frankie Montas, but the catcher has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Reds news: Bubba Thompson claimed, Austin Wynns outrighted

None of these moves are earth-shattering. Quite frankly, the most surprising move of the offseason may have been the fact that the Cincinnati Reds chose to hang on to Nick Martini instead of TJ Hopkins.

While Martini brings a veteran presence to the Reds' incredibly young clubhouse, Hopkins is a right-handed hitter who can play all three outfield spots. With so many left-handed bats in the outfield, it was rather surprising to see Cincinnati part with Hopkins.

Retaining Austin Wynns, on what amounted to a minor-league deal in the first place, was a solid move on the part of the Reds. Cincinnati is going into the regular season with just two catchers on the 40-man roster. The Reds have decided to give Tyler Stephenson another chance to prove that he's up to the task of being QB1 behind the dish. Luke Maile also agreed to a one-year contract this winter.

The loss of Bubba Thompson isn't a major one at all. It was highly unlikely that the former first-round pick would've broken camp with the Cincinnati Reds. Perhaps he'll be able to sneak onto the New York Yankees Opening Day roster or being the season with the team's Triple-A affiliate.