The Cincinnati Reds made several roster moves today at the minor league level. Left handed pitcher Juan Martinez was promoted from Dayton to Daytona. He’s taking the roster spot of right handed pitcher Jake Ehret who was promoted from the Tortugas up to Pensacola. To make room on the Blue Wahoos roster the Reds promoted left handed reliever Nick Routt to Louisville.
Juan Martinez has been very strong out of the Dayton bullpen. He’s posted a 1.60 ERA with the Dragons in 33.2 innings pitched. In that span he’s walked just eight batters and struck out 27 and hasn’t allowed a home run. He’s generated grounders at a rate of 56% this season, a well above-average rate.
Jake Ehret was a Florida State League All-Star, pitching in the games 9th inning over the weekend. The right hander posted a 2.59 ERA in 23 appearances for the Tortugas. With six saves for Daytona in 31.1 innings he led the way in the bullpen. He walked just seven batters and struck out 32 in his time pitching out of the Tortugas bullpen.
Left handed reliever Nick Routt may be having the best season of any pitcher in the organization. In the first half for Pensacola he posted a 0.96 ERA in 37.2 innings. He walked just eight batters and had 36 strikeouts without allowing a home run. His WHIP of 0.80 is second best in the organization. He’s replacing Matt Magill on the roster, who was placed on the disabled list.
Injury Updates
The Arizona League Reds begin their play tonight, but they will be without a few players that were expected to be there to start the season. Catcher Jake Turnbull is on the disabled list with a right hand fracture. 2015 12th round pick Alexis Diaz sounds like he will miss the entire season – he’s been listed as being on the 60-day disabled list with a right elbow UCL injury. The feel-good story of 2015 was seeing left handed pitcher Mason Felt return to baseball. He’s going to begin the year on the disabled list with a forearm strain.
AZL Reds Roster
The Arizona League Reds roster has been released. Here’s a first look:
| Name | Pos | Bat | Thw | Ht | Wt |
| Aaron Fossas | P | R | R | 6′ 2″ | 200 |
| Jarrett Freeland | P | L | R | 6′ 7″ | 230 |
| Yerry Santos | P | R | R | 6′ 4″ | 194 |
| Andrew Wright | P | R | L | 6′ 0″ | 225 |
| Miguel Aguilar | P | R | R | 6′ 0″ | 180 |
| Matt Blandino | P | R | R | 6′ 1″ | 180 |
| Gregory Reinoso | P | L | L | 6′ 1″ | 170 |
| Dauri Moreta | P | R | R | 6′ 2″ | 185 |
| Connor Bennett | P | R | R | 5′ 9″ | 192 |
| Isaac Anesty | P | L | L | 6′ 2″ | 190 |
| Luis Alecis | P | R | R | 6′ 3″ | 190 |
| Ian Kahaloa | P | R | R | 6′ 1″ | 185 |
| Darren Shred | P | R | R | 6′ 3″ | 200 |
| Wennigton Romero | P | L | L | 5′ 11″ | 175 |
| Nick Hanson | P | R | R | 6′ 6″ | 205 |
| Name | Pos | Bat | Thw | Ht | Wt |
| Derik Capitillo | C | R | R | 5′ 11″ | 205 |
| Ernesto Liberatore | C | R | R | 6′ 0″ | 180 |
| Morgan Lofstrom | C | L | R | 6′ 1″ | 185 |
| Pabel Manzanero | C | R | R | 6′ 3″ | 170 |
| Name | Pos | Bat | Thw | Ht | Wt |
| Francis Azcona | SS | S | R | 5′ 10″ | 155 |
| Emmanuel Cruz | SS | R | R | 5′ 11″ | 170 |
| Edgar Herrera | IF | L | R | 5′ 10″ | 180 |
| Urwin Juaquin | SS | R | R | 6′ 0″ | 140 |
| Nadir Ljatifi | SS | R | R | 5′ 10″ | 170 |
| Victor Martinez | SS | R | R | 6′ 1″ | 170 |
| Carlos Rivero | SS | L | R | 6′ 0″ | 175 |
| J.D. Salmon-Williams | 2B | R | R | 5′ 9″ | 195 |
| Leandro Santana | 3B | R | R | 6′ 2″ | 175 |
| Andy Sugilio | 3B | S | R | 6′ 2″ | 170 |
| Name | Pos | Bat | Thw | Ht | Wt |
| Michael Beltre | OF | S | R | 6′ 3″ | 180 |
| Mauro Conde | OF | R | R | 6′ 0″ | 20 |
| Daniel Jimenez | OF | R | R | 5′ 11″ | 175 |
| Reshard Munroe | OF | L | L | 6′ 0″ | 170 |
| Raul Wallace | RF | R | R | 6′ 2″ | 180 |
There are some interesting names on the roster. Let’s start with the pitchers. The first thing that jumps out is that Jarrett Freeland is now listed as a pitcher. He last played in 2014 and played 1st base, hitting just .190/.306/.202. The 2013 15th round pick was viewed by some teams as a pitcher coming out of the draft. 2016 3rd round pick Nick Hanson is the biggest prospect among the group. Left hander Wennigton Romero is making the jump to the US after dominating in the Dominican Summer League last year. The 18-year-old posted a 2.13 ERA with nine walks and 82 strikeouts in 71.2 innings last year for the DSL Rojos. Ian Kahaloa is returning to Arizona for 2016, at least to start the year. He pitched very well there in 2015, posting a 2.25 ERA in 24.0 innings with six walks and 31 strikeouts.
The infield has seven teenagers on the roster, including two 18-year-olds in shortstops Urwin Juaquin and Nadir Ljatifi. The position players on the roster are almost exclusively non-American born players. There is only one position player that was born in America, Manny Cruz. Morgan Lofstrom, a catcher, and J.D. Salmon-Williams are both Canadian. Mauro Conde was born in Puerto Rico. The rest of the roster is represented by the Bahamas, the Dominican Repbulic, Colombia, Germany, Venezuela and Curacao.