Early on Friday afternoon the news broke that Billy Hamilton was going to be non-tendered a contract by the Cincinnati Reds. That was pretty big news in Cincinnati with a lot of people on both sides of the aisle. But the team wasn’t finished with their non-tenders. Late on Friday night they would non-tender outfielder Aristides Aquino, outfielder Jordan Patterson, and catcher Juan Graterol.
The Jordan Patterson era of Cincinnati Reds baseball lasted about as long as the FIRST Juan Graterol era of Cincinnati Reds baseball did: Not long. He was in the organization for two days. Juan Graterol stuck around a bit longer this time around, but despite being in the organization twice he has never actually put on the jersey of a Cincinnati Reds team.
Aristides Aquino has been with the Reds for his entire career. He signed with the team in January of 2011 out of the Dominican Republic and played his way up through the system. In 2018 he spent most of the year in Double-A with Pensacola, but did get a brief call up to the Major Leagues in August. He made his Major League debut on the 19th against San Francisco, striking out in his lone plate appearance. A week later he was back in Pensacola where he finished out the season.
The 2018 season was a tough one for Aristides Aquino. While repeating Double-A he hit .240/.306/.448 with 20 doubles, 2 triples, and 20 home runs. He battled consistency throughout the year. His second half was stronger than the first half, but still had plenty of ups-and-downs. I had him ranked as the teams 20th best prospect after the year. He’s now a free agent, though there’s a chance he could re-sign with the organization.
Among the moves made later in the day, the Aquino one is the most surprising. He was on the 40-man roster, but had options. As long as he wasn’t in the Major Leagues, that means he was only due 40-man roster money. It’s 12:30am and I’m not looking up the exact amount, but I believe that would be $82,500 for the year. This move doesn’t necessarily save the team that money because someone will take that spot on the roster – and it’s likely going to be someone that makes that much. It simply opens up a spot on the roster.The 40-man now stands at 36 players.