Reds made their latest cuts yesterday. Headed to Louisville are Jose Acevedo and Todd Coffey, neither of which surprise me very much, frankly. Acevedo had been terrible this spring, and Coffey had a couple of rough outings lately, so the writing was on the wall.
That leaves the final bullpen spot — which is really the only intrigue left, with respect to the Reds roster construction — to either Matt Belisle or Joe Valentine. It it’s up to me (and it isn’t), I’d give that spot to Belisle. I just don’t trust Valentine’s control, or lack thereof.
Assigned to minor league camp was Jason Romano (woo-hoo!), Bobby Estallela (huh?), and Jeriome Robertson (woo-hoo!).
I’m hearing that Estallela has asked for his unconditional release, as he should. He has no business being anywhere but Cincinnati for Opening Day. I can’t get too worked up about the backup catcher slot (after all, how much is this really going to hurt the team?), but it’s pretty clear that the Reds made a mistake here. Heck, I’d even endorse the Reds carrying a third catcher, if it meant Estallela stayed in the majors, rather than 12 pitchers.
The final roster spot is basically down to Luis Lopez and Jacob Cruz, and no one seriously thinks it will be anyone but Cruz (nor should it be; Cruz is okay for the 25th man on the roster).