Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte, the top-rated prospects in the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system, were among the six players added to the 40-man roster Tuesday while Aristides Aquino and Jeff Hoffman were two of the cuts.
Tuesday was the deadline to protect prospects from December’s Rule 5 Draft, and the Reds added De La Cruz, Marte, left-hander Brandon Williamson and right-handed pitchers Levi Stoudt, Lyon Richardson and Ricky Karcher to the 40-man roster.
The six players designated for assignment to make space on the 40-man roster were Aquino, Hoffman, and pitchers Art Warren, Derek Law, Jared Solomon and Kyle Dowdy. Aquino, Hoffman and Law were eligible for arbitration. Warren is expected to miss the 2023 season after he underwent elbow surgery in September.
The roster cut likely closes the door on Aquino's tenure with the Reds. He earned National League player of the month honors during his first month in the big leagues in 2019, but he's never come close to replicating that level of consistency.
“(Aquino is) a really good person, a likeable guy in the clubhouse," Reds General Manager Nick Krall said. "We wish him the best. I think he’s shown some streakiness where’s been really good and he’s played some pretty good defense. It’s just with where we are with the roster and at-bats we need to give other guys, he wasn’t a great fit right now.”
The Reds lost some bullpen depth with their moves to cut Hoffman, Law and Solomon. Hoffman was a solid middle reliever, but struggled in high-leverage situations before ending his season with an elbow injury. Law pitched well at the end of the season after he signed with the Reds in August on a minor-league deal, and Solomon made nine relief appearances.
"Our bullpen pitched pretty well at the end of the season," Krall said. "We had to make some tough calls with some of the bullpen guys. It also allows us to protect guys, Buck Farmer, (Ian) Gibaut, some of the guys with (minor league) options. It gave us more flexibility."
De La Cruz had one of the best minor league seasons in all of baseball, batting .304 with 28 homers, 31 doubles, nine triples, 86 RBI and 47 stolen bases in 120 games. De La Cruz, who will turn 21 in January, spent the final two months of the season in Double-A and was one of the youngest players at that level.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, De La Cruz has been a star in the Dominican Winter League over the past month, though he’ll be shut down at the end of the week because of fatigue. He’s played nearly 150 games this year.
“It’s taking one step at a time with him,” Krall said. “He played two months in Double-A. He went to winter ball, and he’s played well in winter ball. He needs to continue to grow, and we’ll see what happens.”
Marte, who began playing third base in the Arizona Fall League, was the top-rated prospect in the Luis Castillo trade. The 21-year-old hit .279 with 19 homers, 23 doubles and 68 RBI in 115 games at High-A while producing a .371 on-base percentage. He’s expected to begin next year in Double-A.
Williamson, 24, entered the 2022 season as a borderline top-100 prospect, but struggled with his command. In 27 starts between Double-A and Triple-A, he posted a 4.11 ERA with 123 strikeouts and 77 walks in 122 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-6 lefty was the top-rated prospect acquired from Seattle in the Eugenio Suárez/Jesse Winker trade and will compete for a spot in the Reds’ rotation next spring.
Stoudt, along with Marte, was one of the four players in the Castillo trade. He had an up-and-down season in Double-A, before pitching well with the Reds in Triple-A. He recorded a 4.70 ERA across 25 starts with 103 strikeouts and 32 walks in 111 innings and he will turn 25 years old in December.
Richardson missed the entire 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but the Reds didn’t want to risk a team taking him in the Rule 5 Draft as a bullpen arm. Turning 23 in January, Richardson has yet to pitch above High-A, but he profiles as a starting pitcher and was a second-round pick in 2018.
"(Richardson) was throwing 98-99 mph at the end of instructional league, so we felt there was no need to risk it with him," Krall said. "Whether he starts in High-A or Double-A, he’s got a chance to be a legitimate big-league pitcher and there was no need to leave him unprotected. We felt it was better safe than sorry."
Karcher, 25, was a 13th-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. With a fastball in the upper-90s and sharp slider, he had one of the best strikeout rates in the farm system this year, totaling 88 strikeouts and 40 walks across 56 2/3 innings while recording 10 saves. He made 32 appearances at Triple-A Louisville (3.98 ERA), so he’ll compete for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen during spring training.
"Ricky's been a guy that's had some walk issues over the past couple of years, toned them down a little bit this year and did much better the second half of the season," Krall said. "We were excited about where he was. We thought about bringing him up in September. With an expanded roster you might have, but he was a no-brainer for us to add."
The next roster deadline is Friday when teams must decide whether to guarantee 2023 contracts to arbitration-eligible players or release them. The Reds still have seven arbitration-eligible players on their roster: Kyle Farmer, Buck Farmer, Luis Cessa, Lucas Sims, Nick Senzel, Justin Dunn and Tejay Antone.
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