Reds prolong roster move, but eventually activate Carson Spiers and option reliever

David Bell let everyone know that Elly De La Cruz would not start against the Chicago Cubs, but the Cincinnati Reds waited until just before game time to announce who'd be sent down in order to activate Carson Spiers from the IL.

Earlier on Monday, the Reds announced a series of moves. The Reds swung a deal with the Seattle Mariners for former All-Star first baseman Ty France. Cincinnati is hopeful that France will bounce back to his 2022 form and help offset the losses of Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Nick Martini.

But Cincinnati also had an injury to reports as well. Catcher Austin Wynns, who'd been filling in for Luke Maile of late, was placed on the 10-day IL with a torn teres major. That prompted the Reds elevate Eric Yang to the major league roster while also shoving Graham Ashcraft from the 15-day to the 60-day IL spot.

Reds prolong roster move only to option RHP Yosver Zulueta in order to activate Carson Spiers

But the Reds oddly kept the announcement of Spiers' return to the roster out of the mix. As ESPN's Brian Windhorst would say, "Now why is that?" As it turns out, it had nothing to do with the MLB trade deadline and right-hander Yosver Zulueta was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.

Spiers had been sidelined since July 13th with a right shoulder impingement, but the plan was always to bring him back into the rotation shortly after the All-Star break. And with the postponement of last week's game against the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati never had to call up a spot starter or use an extensive number of relievers in Spiers' absence.

The rookie has been somewhat of a revelation for the Reds this season. After getting his feet wet in 2023, Spiers is 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA in 10 games this season, including five starts. After allowing four earned runs during a start on June 17th at PNC Park, Spiers has gone 21.2 inning over his last four outings and struck out 21 batters. His last start before landing on the IL saw Spiers go five innings and punch out nine batters.

With Ashcraft having been moved to the 60-day IL, his 2024 season is likely all but over. There's still hope that Brandon Williamson can return this season, but even so, Spiers has earned his place in the Reds rotation with his performance this season.

Why did the Reds wait until about an hour before the game to make this decision? Many Reds fans are speculating that the team was in trade talks involving one or more of their relievers. The Reds have less than 24 hours to make trades before Tuesday's deadline passes.

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