Why the Reds should keep Derek Law on the offseason roster

The Cincinnati Reds will have some decisions to make in the coming weeks. The team will need to decide which prospects to add to the 40-man roster and which current players to non-tender or designate for assignment.

One of the more intriguing options is relief pitcher Derek Law. The right-hander joined the Redlegs in August after a brief stint with the Detroit Tigers.

Law appeared in 15 games for Cincinnati last season and was fairly productive. The right-hander went more than one inning on multiple occasions and gave up just two round trippers in his 17.2 innings of work. Should the Reds bring Law back in 2023?

Why the Reds should keep Derek Law on the offseason roster.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Derek Law is up for arbitration and should take home somewhere in the neighborhood of $900K. That's barely over the league minimum and essentially the equivalent of what the team would pay a pitcher who signed a minor league contract and was added to the Opening Day roster.

If you remove Law's final appearance of the 2022 season in which he went just 0.2 innings and allowed two earned runs to the Chicago Cubs on two hits (including a home run), the right-hander posted a 3.18 ERA and 3.76 FIP in 17 innings.

Law also had a ground ball rate better than 50%. Every Reds fan knows that keeping the ball on the ground while playing in Cincinnati is key for any pitcher. The Reds home stadium is launching pad for batters, especially during the heat of the summer.

The Cincinnati Reds have so many unknowns in their bullpen heading into the offseason. Four of their top hurlers are returning from the 60-day IL, including Tejay Antone who underwent Tommy John surgery. Vladimir Gutierrez and Art Warren will miss the entire the 2023 after suffering elbow injuries of their own in 2022.

Derek Law could bring a small measure of stability as the veteran has been in the league since 2016. If the Reds are in need of freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster, there are plenty of other names the front office should look to remove before arriving at Law.