Reds DFA veteran infielder, begin preparing for offseason roster shakeup

The Cincinnati Reds roster got a little smaller on Monday afternoon. The Reds made a handful of predictable moves by designating both Amed Rosario and Brandon Leibrandt for assignment. That cleared two spots on the 40-man roster, and Cincinnati reinstated both Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Matt McLain from the 60-day injured list.

These moves are little more than procedural. Once the World Series is over, teams have five days to reinstate all players from the 60-day IL. But the Reds have a problem, if after dispensing of both Rosario and Leibrandt, Cincinnati has 46 players on the 40-man roster.

Reds DFA veteran infielder Amed Rosario, reinstate Matt McLain & Christian Encarnacion-Strand

That means that the Reds will have to cut ties with at least six more players between now and the start of free agency. But wait, there are also a number of team and player-options that need to be decided as well. Some of these moves will take care of themselves.

In terms of free agents, both Buck Farmer and Justin Wilson will come off the 40-man roster and enter free agency this offseason. That gets the number down to 44. Emilio Pagán has an $8 million player-option for 2025 that he's sure to exercise, so that doesn't help lower the roster total at all. The Reds have to decide whether or not to keep Brent Suter and Luke Maile heading into next season, and all signs point to both veterans returning.

Jakob Junis has an $8 million mutual-option that the Reds may want to exercise. However, it seems doubtful that the right-hander will pick up his end of the option, and is likely to enter free agency. That brings the Reds' 40-man roster to 43. Nick Martinez is a sure-fire bet to exercise his opt-out clause, meaning that Cincinnati will still need to cut ties with at least two players before free agency begins.

Austin Wynns is all but guaranteed to be DFA'd, and players like Casey Legumina, Nick Martini, Stuart Fairchild, and Joey Wiemer are in danger of losing their roster spots as well. Monday's transactions were just a primer for what's to come in the next few weeks. This Reds roster will look much different by the time your sitting down to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with your family in late-November.

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