Reds roster updates: Will Benson to Triple-A and the bullpen battle is taking shape

On March 31, 2024, Will Benson delivered a perfect swing. It was the bottom of the ninth in the first series of the season against the Nationals, and the Reds trailed by two runs in the bottom of the ninth. With Jonathan India on second base, Benson hit a laser over the center field fence to tie the score. As Benson rounded the bases, he fired up the dugout.

Benson wears his emotions on his sleeve on the baseball field. On this day, Benson was the No. 2 hitter in the Reds’ lineup, which is a prime piece of real estate for an athletic outfielder in his mid-20s. Benson was viewed as a potential All-Star on the verge of a breakout season.

Again, Benson wears his emotions on his sleeve. Aside from that homer, he didn’t look like the confident version of himself for basically the entire 2024 season (the lone exception was a brief solid stretch in late May/early June).

The Reds optioned Benson to Triple-A on Saturday. Hit hit .187 in the big leagues in 2024, and despite tweaking his stance he didn’t have the breakthrough spring that he needed to make the team. He was always competing for a roster spot in spring training, and the Reds didn’t really have a role for Benson right now.

Austin Hays has established himself as the cleanup hitter and as an every day player. TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley are better left-handed hitting outfielders than Benson is right now, and Gavin Lux is another left-hander who will get time in the outfield.

Benson was also beaten out by Jacob Hurtubise, who remains in big league camp and is competing for the final roster spot. While Benson has had some terrific swings in spring training action, he hasn’t been nearly as consistent as Hurtubise, who has an OBP of .600 in Cactus League action.

In 2024, Benson was very pitchable because the weakness in his swing was making contact against fastballs thrown right down the middle. He should have been optioned to Triple-A several times in 2024, and he probably would have been had the Reds had any depth that could replace him.

Benson got optioned to Triple-A in 2023, and it was the best thing that has happened to him. He got a chance to reset, take a breathe and get substantial reps as he made some adjustments.

Benson is still just 26 years old. I’ll bet that we see a good amount of him in the big leagues in 2025. It’s a long season, and Benson will eventually get a shot to reestablish himself. But right now, the Reds couldn’t afford to give Benson the at-bats that he’d need to get into a rhythm.

Terry Francona managed Benson in Cleveland in 2022, when Benson was the 26th man on a contending Guardians team. At the start of spring training this year, Francona apologized to Benson for not playing him, saying that he didn’t put Benson in position to succeed. Benson barely played, so he didn’t get the chance to develop.

Francona isn’t doing that again in 2025. Benson just needs to play, a lot like Noelvi Marte. If Benson clicks in Triple-A, then he’ll be back on the big league roster. He still has a higher upside than Friedl and Fraley. In 2023, Benson was one of the best platoon outfielders in baseball.

Benson just needs to make more contact, and he can’t strikeout anywhere near as often as he did last year. The Reds aren’t giving up on Benson, but he has a lot of work to do.

In the outfield this year, the Reds enter the season with Hays as an every day player. Friedl is the center fielder, and Fraley should play right field against right-handed pitching. Friedl will play some vs. LHP because of his defensive value and the way that bunting opens up his game vs. LHP. Fraley will be a platoon player, and Stuart Fairchild and Blake Dunn are competing to be the top right-handed hitting outfielder on the Reds’ bench.

Fairchild is a big league caliber player. He has great speed and range, and he has a solid .786 career OPS vs. LHP. It’s worth noting that his production really fell off down the stretch last season as he hit .154 with a poor .647 OPS across July and August before he suffered a season-ending thumb injury. Left-handed pitchers made some adjustments, and Fairchild has to make a counter move this year.

Dunn is an interesting player. He didn’t look ready for his big league call-up last year and hit just .154. He also only posted a .640 OPS in Triple-A. Last year never really got off the ground for Dunn, who didn’t have a normal spring training due to an elbow injury, got hurt in April while crashing into a wall, was banged up a few more times and even missed time due to a facial laceration that took place when he got hit in the head by a pitch.

He looks much more comfortable this year. Even just watching him in batting practice, it was clear that he’s tapping more into the power that he showed in 2023, when he hit 23 homers in the minors. Dunn is also one of the fastest guys in baseball.

This year, until Steer is ready to play the outfield again, the Reds will likely play one of Fairchild or Dunn when they face LHP, and the other may fill in for Friedl in some matchups vs. LHP depending on how Friedl looks.

Looking at the rest of the spring training roster, putting the catcher situation to the side, the Reds have 13 position players who aren’t catchers who are competing for 11 roster spots. One of those players is Spencer Steer, whose status for Opening Day is unclear due to a shoulder injury.

If Steer isn’t ready for Opening Day, there are two spots for Dunn, Hurtubise or Fairchild. I’d project Dunn and Fairchild to win those spots because there’s a clearer path to at-bats for a RHH outfielder than a LHH outfielder, but Hurtubise has definitely turned some heads with his gritty, athletic and intense style of play.

If Steer is ready for Opening Day, then there’s one spot for Dunn, Hurtubise and Fairchild. Since Fairchild doesn’t have minor league options and since depth is so important for the injury-riddled Reds, I’d project him to have a leg up in that roster battle.

CES, McLain, Lux, Candelario, Espinal, De La Cruz, Friedl, Fraley and Hays should all be locks to make the roster, and so is Steer if he’s healthy.

The roster math on the pitching staff

The Reds re-assigned five pitchers to minor league camp on Saturday: starting pitching prospect Chase Petty as well as relievers Albert Abreu, Zach Maxwell, Bryan Shaw and Lenny Torres.

There are 18 healthy pitchers left in camp (Rhett Lowder and Wade Miley will start the year on the IL, and Julian Aguiar and Brandon Williamson are coming back from Tommy John surgery).

The top-four in the rotation is set: Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez and Brady Singer.

Francona hasn’t named the Reds’ fifth starter yet, and the candidates are Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers.

Abbott has been on a slow ramp-up progression after dealing with a shoulder injury last year, and he hasn’t appeared in a Cactus League game yet. He did pitch in a minor league spring game earlier this week, and there’s still enough time for him to be built up enough to be on the Opening Day roster.

The fifth starter spot most likely comes down to Abbott’s health and his ramp-up progression. I’d have him on my projected Opening Day roster right now. The shoulder injury got the best of Abbott down the stretch in 2024. But through the All-Star break, Abbott was pitching like a top-half of the rotation starter with a 3.06 ERA through his 18th start of the season.

If Abbott isn’t ready for the start of the season, then I’d have Spiers ahead of Ashcraft in the rotation pecking order. Spiers is a very uncomfortable at-bat because of his ability to mix a lot of different pitches. He’s the Cody Ford of pitchers — every team could use him in the mix.

Francona has spoken about the need for Ashcraft to develop a third pitch that changes speeds and slows hitters down. Ashcraft’s sinker and slider still have a lot of potential, but he wasn't able to pitch deep into games last season because he didn’t have a way to keep batters honest. It’s been a tough spring for Ashcraft in Cactus League play.

If Abbott is ready, that leaves 13 pitchers left in camp for eight spots in the bullpen. Six relievers are locks: Alexis Díaz, Tony Santillan, Taylor Rogers, Emilio Pagán, Brent Suter and Scott Barlow.

Moll has been one of the best left-handed specialists in baseball over the last two years, and his track record will likely lead to him getting a roster spot. He’s a very good reliever, and the Reds are so confident in him that they didn’t seriously entertain inquiries about Moll’s availability at the deadline last year.

It’s also worth noting that during spring training, Moll hasn’t been pitching as well as he usually does. He had a slow start to the 2024 season as well and didn’t really get going until May.

I’d still have Moll on my projected Opening Day roster. But the Reds still do have two left-handed pitchers in camp competing a bullpen spot in Alex Young and Joe La Sorsa. The Reds almost definitely won’t carry four left-handers on the Opening Day roster. Young and La Sorsa are both change-of-pace left-handers like Moll is with uncommon profiles for a left-handed reliever.

Getting back on track, there are six locks plus the seventh spot in the bullpen going to one of these left-handers (most likely to Moll, but the competition seemingly remains open).

That leaves one open spot for Ian Gibaut, Lyon Richardson, Ashcraft and Spiers (assuming the last two guys don’t make the rotation). The Reds already have a long relief option in Suter, so this bullpen spot won’t have to go to a guy who’s built up to pitch multiple innings.

Richardson was a standout starting pitching prospect with a big fastball changeup combination at this point last year, but a tough 2024 season led to the Reds moving him to the bullpen during the winter. He’s still getting his feet wet as a reliever.

There’s a lot to like with Gibaut. He finished the 2023 season was the Reds’ top setup reliever before a forearm injury cost him nearly the entire 2024 season. He reported to spring training in great shape, he has good fastball velocity as a part of a four-pitch mix and he has proven to be very durable when healthy.

Ashcraft remains one of the most interesting players in camp. Does he end up in the rotation? If not, do the Reds move him to the bullpen (where his sinker-slider combination could really shine in short appearances) even though he has never pitched out of the bullpen? Do they keep him in Triple-A as starting pitching depth? Do they get him some reps in the Triple-A bullpen?

Unlike a lot of recent Reds season, there’s a strong competition that includes some quality pitchers for the final roster spot.