Tyler Stephenson is the lone catcher remaining after flurry of moves reshuffle the Reds roster

Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson.
Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson. / Vaughn Ridley/GettyImages

The Cincinnati Reds made some moves on Friday afternoon, and if one thing is clear, it's that the front office will be in the market for a backup catcher during the offseason.

That's not overly surprising given how unsuccessful all the backstops were after Tyler Stephenson landed on the IL. Once Stephenson suffered a season-ending injury, the Reds trotted out five different catchers.

On Friday, Chuckie Robinson was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville and the trio of Michael Papierski, Mark Kolozsvary, and Aramis Garcia were all claimed off waivers.

Trio of Reds catchers claimed off waivers.

Chuckie Robinson, along with pitcher Raynel Espinal and Ryan Hendrix cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A. All three are no longer on the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster. Both Mark Kolozsvary and Aramis Garcia were claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles, and Michael Papierski was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers.

This flurry of actively leaves former first-round pick Tyler Stephenson as the Reds lone catcher. Technically, Austin Romine is still on the roster for the moment, but the veteran backstop will be a free agent shortly after the season ends and will need to sign a new contract if Cincinnati hopes to retain his services.

Many fans throughout Reds Country would love to see Cincinnati make an attempt to re-sign former catchers Tucker Barnhart or Curt Casali, both of whom will be free agents during the offseason.

The Reds also have a young catcher in their farm system that could be added to the team's 40-man roster in the near future. If Cincinnati wants to protect Daniel Vellojin from the Rule 5 Draft, he'll need to be added to the roster in the next few weeks. Vellojin had 10 home runs and an OPS of .689 in the minor leagues last season.

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