Tuesday was filled with a lot of interesting roster moves in the Cincinnati Reds minor league system. One of those moves was that right-handed pitcher Anyer Laureano was activated from the injured list in Daytona.
Laureano hasn’t pitched since August 6th of 2024. That game came with the Tortugas, but he then underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch at all in the 2025 season. The reliever did not pitch in Tuesday night’s game in Daytona, so he technically didn’t return to the mound in an official capacity yet, but we should be seeing that here soon.
Back in 2024 when he was 21-years-old he had 81 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA for the Tortugas in his 54.0 innings. He didn’t give up many hits – just 30 of them. But he did struggle with his control as he walked 37 and hit four others.
His stuff stood out when he was last healthy. He topped out at 99.9 MPH in 2024 when Daytona was playing road games (there was no pitch tracking in home games), and he averaged 96.8 MPH with the offering. Laureano also mixed in an above-average slider and a change up.
Two other pitchers joined Laureano in Daytona on Tuesday. Justin Henschel and Jordan Little are both looking to make their professional debuts. Little, a 23-year-old right-handed reliever was the Reds 15th round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2024, but he missed all of the 2025 season with an unspecified injury. Henschel, a 22-year-old out of Florida Gulf Coast, was the team’s 7th round pick last year but didn’t pitch after mid-March as he underwent Tommy John surgery.
There were two surprising moves in Chattanooga on Tuesday right before the series began. The Reds released infielder Alexander Vargas. It’s a surprising move given that the 24-year-old Cuban was hitting .339/.383/.393 with four walks and seven strikeouts in his 16 games played this season with the Lookouts.
The other surprising move wasn’t at the behest of the club, but of the player. Reliever Simon Miller retired. The 2023 12th round pick had a 4.66 ERA in his 9.2 innings this season while striking out 11 batters with just two walks. The 25-year-old had a 2.96 ERA in his 112.2 innings pitched while playing with Daytona, Dayton, and Chattanooga.