Predicting the Cincinnati Reds 2022-23 offseason roster

Prospects who will be added to the Reds 2022-23 offseason roster (7)

Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Brandon Williamson, Levi Stoudt, TJ Hopkins, Daniel Vellojin, Ricky Karcher

Finally, we get to the good stuff. These decisions that the Cincinnati Reds front office will need to make in the coming weeks have the biggest bearing on who else remains part of the team's offseason roster. All of these additions are made with the Rule 5 Draft in mind.

The Rule 5 Draft allows other teams to poach a club's young "unprotected" talent. So how does a team "protect" their talent? By adding them to the 40-man roster before the deadline. Some of these players are locks to be added while others may be a borderline choice.

Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte are quite possibly the future left side of the Cincinnati Reds infield. You can write this in permanent ink; De La Cruz and Marte will be added to the Reds 40-man roster later this year.

The same can be said for pitchers Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt. Both were former prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization with Williamson coming to Cincinnati in March and Stoudt making his way to the Queen City in July. Both will be added to the offseason roster and could be in line for a spot on the 2023 Opening Day roster.

TJ Hopkins has played his way onto the offseason roster as well. One of the few outfield prospects who may be deemed major league-ready, Hopkins posted a .792 OPS, 107 wRC+, and crushed 21 homers while playing for Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville last season.

Daniel Vellojin is one of the Reds' most advanced catching prospects. Though he struggled after making the leap to Double-A, Cincinnati's catching depth is very thin after watching Aramis Garcia, Mark Kolozsvary, and Michael Papierski claimed off waivers late last week.

Last but not least is Ricky Karcher. The right-hander split his 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A and posted a 3.65 ERA and 35.1% strikeout-rate. After seeing the Reds add Alexis Diaz to the 40-man roster last season, Cincinnati seems quite willing to add relief prospects that can fill up the strike zone.