Did The Reds Botch Its Roster Management?

Perhaps the biggest loss for the Reds over the off-season was assistant general manager Bob Miller.

It appears that the Reds' have botched the handling of its roster over the handling of the Devin Mesoraco.

Mesoraco had a problem with his hip during the end of the Reds homestand Saturday or Sunday.  He has not played since.  The severity of the injury is not public knowledge but he has been out of action now for over a week.

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The Reds chose not to put Mesoraco on the disabled list. This caused them to play shorthanded but it is a must that two catchers are available every game because that position is more prone to injury and few players can play the position.  In an emergency infielders can play outfield and outfielders can be pressed into service as infielders. Catchers, however, are more specialized and affect pitching to a high degree.

The Reds needed another catcher immediately.  So call up Tucker Barnhart, the organization's third catcher.

Not so fast.  Barnhart was optioned late in the spring training.  He could only be recalled after 14 days unless there is an injury that required a trip to the disabled list.  Bob Miller has a reputation of an expert on the roster rules, exceptions and enforcement.  It is this circumstance that Miller's leaving the organization may have hurt.

The only way to cover for Mesoraco was to open a spot on the 40-man roster for another catcher in the system.  Kyle Skipworth, a former number one draft choice, was the other option but the Reds had to put a player on waivers to get him on the roster. 

The Reds also left spring training without a long reliever other than Rasiel Iglesias, who was the fifth starter that covered for Homer Bailey on Sunday.

Unusable for four days, the Reds' optioned Iglesias to Louisville. It was pretty clear through conversations with Bryan Price that he wanted to bring Michael Lorenzen to Cincinnati but the organization elected to develop Lorenzen at Louisville. Also they would need to clear a 40-man spot for him too.

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The Reds selected the contract of Josh Smith in case they needed a long relief man.  The move required the Reds to waive another player.

Left-handed pitcher Ryan Dennick and right-handed prospect Daniel Corcino were exposed to waivers and Chris Dominguez lost his spot on the Reds' bench to make these moves.

Dennick was claimed by the Dodgers, then waived.  Corcino was then claimed by the Dodgers.

Why not disable Mesoraco and recall Barnhart in the first place, saving either pitchers from exposure and keeping Dominguez to pinch hit?

In Bryan Price's tirade he railed about reporters tipping off Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny that Mesoraco was unavailable to pinch hit.

Is having Mesoraco available as a decoy in a situation that may not even come up worth losing a pitching prospect, who showed promise last last year?  Matheny knew at least the Mesoroco was less than 100 percent because he didn't start.  Do you think that he would change his pitching choices based on the threat of an injured player?

Maybe the Reds expected Mesoraco back sooner than the required 15-day stay on the disabled list but they have been playing short-handed for a week and lost a pitching prospect to boot.