Devin Mesoraco Earned the Backup Catcher Job

The Reds offered Miguel Olivo the $100.000 retention bonus mandated by the collective agreement.

Olivo was pushing Devin Mesoraco, who made the team out of spring training but struggled at the plate and in the field.  The Reds sent Mesoraco to Louisville after he returned from a suspension for bumping an umpire.

Dioner Navarro, who signed with the Chicago Cubs over the winter, was added to the roster from Louisville.  Navarro hit well down the stretch as the Reds won the division.

Mesoraco is hitting .361 with three doubles, two home runs and a team-high 11 RBI.

Olivo hit .167 with a home run and four RBI.

Olivo can accept the bonus and report to Louisville with the right to ask for a release if he is not added to the Reds' roster by June 1.  He could also refuse the bonus and elect free agency.