The Reds announced yesterday that Devin Mesoraco has made the Opening Day roster, while Miguel Olivo has been offered an opportunity to remain with the organization in Louisville.
Tuesday was the deadline for the Reds to either place non-roster invite Miguel Olivo on the big league roster or offer him a $100,000 retention bonus to report to Triple-A Louisville. The club offered the bonus and Olivo is still mulling his options before deciding.
“I would hate to see him go,” manager Dusty Baker said. “Sometimes, contractual things supersede, sort of preclude what you want to do.”
There was a little hubbub over Baker’s quote in the comment section yesterday. I could be wrong, and I am wrong more often than I am right, but it reads to me that Baker’s quote was only with respect to Olivo’s role in the organization, not who he prefers as the #2 behind Ryan Hanigan.
In the same article, Mark Sheldon reports that J.J. Hoover is still waiting for a decision on where he will begin his season.
“Oh yeah, it’s just the unknown,” Hoover said of waiting to see if he makes the 25-man roster. “I’m prepared for anything. I’m prepared for whatever decision happens. But, it would be nice to get a decision soon.”
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“I’ve done everything I can performance-wise up to this point,” Hoover said. “I feel confident with what I’ve done. I understand the business side of things. I’ll take the chips where they fall.”
The Reds decision appears to be boiling down to five relievers competing for 3 spots. Chapman, Broxton, Marshall, and LeCure are locks. That leaves Jose Arredondo, Logan Ondrusek, Alfredo Simon, Manny Parra, and J.J. Hoover for the final bullpen roles.
There is conflicting information from the Reds beat writers about who has options left. Some reports indicate that only Hoover has options. It appears to me that both Hoover and Ondrusek have options remaining.
Ondrusek was optioned to the minors in both 2010 and 2012. Prior to the 2009 season, he was left off the 40-man roster and exposed to the Rule V draft. He passed through waivers, cleared the draft and was outrighted to the Reds high-A club – that didn’t require an option. In 2011, he spent the entire year on the major league roster. That would mean Ondrusek has a 3rd option year still remaining. I think that makes the Reds decision a little easier.
Dusty Baker’s comments from earlier this week indicate that Alfredo Simon might be the one on the bubble. He participated in the WBC and pitched very little. Simon threw 2 innings last night, surrending 3 hits, a walk, and the Cubs only run.
I believe that Hoover is the best reliever of the five. However, Jocketty showed a willingness to sacrifice talent on the 25-man roster for depth when he optioned Todd Frazier to AAA last year. Don’t be surprised if the same thing happens this year to Hoover.