Major League Baseball is heading towards a start to the 2020 season after having made an agreement on terms for a shortened season. Teams across baseball have submitted their rosters of players who will practice and play come time for first pitch. Teams will report on July 1, and Opening Day shall follow a little over three weeks later.
The Cincinnati Reds made public which players in their organization will be headed to Ohio on the first of the month. “Ohio” is the term of choice here because the Reds will have two fields at which players will practice: Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati and Prasco Park in Mason.
GABP is seemingly where the “A” team will conduct business and is the destination of 35 players. Among them are household names such as Luis Castillo, Joey Votto, and Eugenio Suarez.
It is worth noting the Reds will house three catchers in Cincinnati in Tucker Barnhart, the presumed starter, as well as Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer. The Reds will certainly be excited to get newly-acquired players such as Shogo Akiyama, Nicholas Castellanos and Mike Moustakas into a uniform at their home ballpark. Wade Miley and Pedro Strop headline the new pitchers who will take the mound in Cincinnati this season.
Several non-roster players were invited to camp in Cincinnati. Sal Romano is a familiar name among other pitchers Nate Jones and Tyler Thornburg. 29-year-old infielder Matt Davidson also received a non-roster invite to practice in Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, 22 players within the organization are heading about 25 miles north to Prasco Park. This roster is comprised of young prospects who will see development time with an array of coaches in addition to being a phone call and a bus trip away from GABP.
Four of Cincinnati’s five best MLB Pipeline-ranked prospects will train in Mason: Nick Lodolo (No. 1), Tyler Stephenson (No. 3), Jonathan India (No. 4) and prospect Jose Garcia (No. 5).
Perhaps the most surprising name on this list is the outfielder who burst onto the scene last August. Aristedes Aquino, 26, finished August with a .320 batting average and 14 home runs, making him the fastest player in MLB history to reach that mark in just 28 career games. However, Aquino hit .196 in September and struck out 34 times compared to 20 hits.
Other notable Reds news include Derek Dietrich being left off either roster for “flexibility” and infielder Blake Trahan retiring from baseball at age 26.
