Some Reds players have earned an absurd amount of money while on the IL

Injuries are part of the game, but this is ridiculous. The Cincinnati Reds have had a major league leading 14 players on the Injured List. Collectively, according to Spotrac, those players have missed 165 days and accounted for $2.6M worth of payroll that has been absent from the Reds lineup.

The Reds had a boatload of players missing from the Opening Day roster. Luis Castillo, Mike Minor, Jose Barrero, Donovan Solano, Lucas Sims, and Max Schrock all would have likely broken camp with the Reds.

Players like Brandon Drury, Colin Moran, Aristides Aquino, Ryan Hendrix, Nick Lodolo, and Reiver Sanmartin may not have latched on had Cincinnati been fully healthy when the 2022 season began.

The Reds are missing way too many players.

Say what you will about the Cincinnati Reds roster construction, but no team is set up to handle the myriad of losses this team has had to deal with in the early going. The Reds are missing two starting pitchers, arguably their best reliever, their starting second baseman, their starting third baseman, their starting catcher, and their most talented young infielder.

Add to that some of their coveted role players, and you have a 2-11 team to begin the 2022 season. It's hard to imagine things being much worse for the Cincinnati Reds.

The team is also without Tejay Antone for the entire 2022 season as the right-hander rehabs from Tommy John surgery. And one of the key pieces the Reds received from the Seattle Mariners, Justin Dunn, began the season on the IL and isn't expected back until sometime this summer.

Mike Moustakas, who was just placed on the IL three days ago, has earned $258K while out of the lineup. If Moose returns after just the 10-day minimum, he'll have already pocketed about $1.3M. Mike Minor, who's rehab assignment was cut short, has already earned about $1M and hasn't set foot onto a major league mound this season.

Between the flurry of offseason trades, the comments made by team president Phil Castellini, the bevy of injuries, and the worst record in Major League Baseball, this season has the potential to be disastrous for the Cincinnati Reds. Hey, at least Lucas Sims will be back on Friday.