The Reds claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Rangers on Thursday, per announcements from both clubs. Texas had designated him for assignment last week. Cincinnati had a pair of vacancies on its 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary.
Contreras, still just 25, will join his second organization of the offseason and third of the past calendar year. Once a top pitching prospect with the Yankees and Pirates — New York traded him to Pittsburgh in the Jameson Taillon swap — he’s begun to bounce around the league in journeyman fashion. Pittsburgh traded him to Anaheim for cash back in May, and the Rangers claimed him off waivers from the Halos on Halloween.
Back in 2022, Contreras looked like he was on his way to cementing a long-term place in the Pirates’ rotation. He pitched 95 innings with a 3.79 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate in that rookie campaign. A year later, the right-hander lost more than a mile per hour off his heater and was trounced for a 6.59 ERA in 68 1/3 big league frames. His work in Triple-A Indianapolis was similarly shaky, with an ERA just under 5.00 in eight appearances (six starts).
Out of minor league options and losing his grip on a roster spot, Contreras was designated for assignment back in May. The Angels leaned on him for 52 innings of low-leverage relief following that cash swap, and Contreras held his own with a 4.33 ERA and more questionable rate stats (17.9 K%, 10.6 BB%). The full-time move to the ’pen didn’t get Contreras’ velocity back up to its previous 96 mph average; he sat 94.9 mph with the pitch in 2024.
If Contreras lasts the rest of the offseason on the Reds’ 40-man roster, he’ll compete for a bullpen spot this spring. He’d need to make the Opening Day club or else be designated for assignment once again, as he can’t be sent down to Triple-A without first clearing waivers. Alexis Diaz, Brent Suter, Fernando Cruz, Sam Moll, Emilio Pagan and Tony Santillan are all likely locked into spots (barring injuries or trades), but there could still be a couple openings up for grabs in camp, depending on how the front office proceeds for the remainder of the offseason.
A no risk claim by the Reds, give him a chance at spring training and see what you have there.
If anything dfa him send him down to AAA.
Or maybe an Asian team will try to sign him now and he goes to Japan or Korea worse things then that in the world.
He’s gotta better chance of passing through waivers during spring training too imo
Good one, you made me laugh.
Considering they did nothing else to offset their bullpen losses, looks like they will revert to their usual dumpster diving.
what have they lost in the pen that can’t be replaced on the waiver wire?
They need upgrades not more waiver guys.
The Rangers didn’t want to see him go. Not exactly dumpster diving.
100% negativity from you with every comment. Maybe go get some strange or something.
Get some pelt indeed. Jk I too would like to see an actual bullpen upgrade but there isn’t a lot out there and if they are gonna spend on such a tight budget offense comes first imo
Reds have a lot of talent.
White Sox have … some good fans.
White Sox have….prospects
White Sox have great parking available
Looks like the Reds are taking a Roansy gamble—hopefully, it’s not a Contrer-as-trophe!
Reds had a ton of injuries last year and I would expect their young hitters to step up this year but they still need a lot of work.
Not sure why Halos did not take a look?
They had him last year and dfa him so Texas claimed him, they didn’t want him back.
Would have had to DFA someone else, and while he was passable last year, he’s not better than anyone else on the current roster.
You meant “middling” big dog
Big dog may have meant meddling. Maybe they have a lot of mother-in-law wannabes on the team.
Was it Scoobless Joe who said – they would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling Reds.
Hopefully Nick Krull gets fired at the end of this season. This has been a terrible off-season. Now they are picking up waiver wire trash to try and fill out a bullpen.
Some 25 teams have not made a significant move this offseason. There’s no need for express shipping in time for Christmas.
I’d count the Reds in that. Singer is awful in odd years and is do for a bad season at GABP.
Singer was really only “awful” in 2023 (ERA+ of 81). His ERA+ in 2021 was 93. He was brought in for back of the rotation depth and his career ERA+ of 102 is slightly above average.
Singer has a ground ball % that is above average and a very good and very consistent career HR/9 of 1.1. It was a promising trade.
Back of the rotation starter while getting rid of the team captain cant be the best move of the off season. Like I said still no big moves by the Reds. Maybe they can just rip off the band aid and trade Elly for peanuts and continue the 30 plus year rebuild.
I forgot the team captain category. They start you with 2 runs if the captain plays, correct? The reds underachieve; perhaps the captain isn’t a great captain.
Starting pitching is more valuable than hitting.
In general, starting pitchers get paid more than hitters (which reinforces/proves my first statement).
India may have been the team captain, but he was hardly the most valuable of the position players. Second basemen with a career OPS+ of 104 with suspect glove/defensive abilities, even with other strong intangibles, are very exchangeable.
That said, the Singer/India trade WAS a big move. It gave them additional starting pitching depth from which to make future trades from.
lol. I am now 100% convinced earmbrister is really Nick Krall. No one else could possibly be that far up Krall’s ass.
Nah, I just don’t constantly whine like some do here …
You just don’t like to question how bad this front office is currently. This is the same team that missed the playoffs last year. You have to improve and I haven’t seen any attempts to yet.
I’ve been a Reds fan for over 55 years, so I’ve seen plenty of GMs, from the great Bob Howsam to ole leather pants. The game has changed from the 1970s where the playing field for the teams was much more level. I happen to think that the current FO’s approach is the right one for a small market team: accumulate and hoard pitching talent. I’ve endured the lean years where we had a rotation of Aaron Harang and a bunch of stiffs. This current starting rotation is dripping with talent and is only gonna get better. Having gone through the painful process of accumulating that pitching talent, you don’t trade it away on a whim.
This already is not the same team that missed the playoffs last year. McLain is a stud and will make people not miss India. CES has hit at every level of professional baseball. Candelario needs the opportunity of a healthy season. If the three of them stay healthy, the infield is set. We just need to find one big bat for the outfield. Hopefully we can find that bat sooner than later.
And you have seen attempts at improvement, you just choose to dismiss them. I really liked the India trade for Singer, and I had hoped that the Reds would make this waiver claim. Every team in baseball makes waiver claims, and every fan base in baseball has the whiners that come out to decry them.
Once again don’t need extremely long shot lottery tickets need more sure things. Speaking of not sure, that’s Mclain that hasn’t proven he can be healthy. He goes down now your stuck using a terrible backup. No I wasn’t impressed Espinal and think they cant do far better than him.
There are no sure things, unless you’re talking about Juan Soto or Ohtani, and even Ohtani can’t stay healthy. Players like McLain and Lodolo have shown what they can do in MLB. You can either trade them or play them. I’m not going to trade them for cents on the dollar when they could prove to be studs for years to come. It’s easier to be patient when they’re paying for league minimum. The Reds were smart to trade for Espinal, he’s a quality backup. If injuries hit, the Reds have a ton of flexibility with McLain, Espinal, Steer, Marte, CES, and Candelario. Mostly, these guys just need playing time. The Reds really only have one major need: a right handed power hitting RFr with good defense. Unfortunately, that does not exist in this free agent class. I wanted Conforto or Kepler, but both are flawed. Perhaps management was waiting for prices to come down on those two before committing to a flawed player. Now they can either pony up big money for other flaw players in Santander or Hernandez, or they can try to work a trade. Adding Singer to the rotation mix may give them the flexibility to trade a starter for outfield help. It would make sense for them to wait till March to assess whether the pitching is healthy enough to trade some of it. BTW, my whiner comments were not directed at you. I get the impatience, but it would be foolish to get this far with this roster only to force a move now that they’ll regret for years. We’ll see what happens.
Right. A new general manager will increase the market size and spend his own money to get players. In a year where starting pitching is going for insane money and a guy that was 0-10 gets a $9 million dollar deal, Krall has done pretty well.
Pretty well? This is only the 2nd move of the off-season for the Reds. The Cubs are getting better and the Reds are doing nothing.
Might be a great claim! Good job Reds
This isn’t even a C move lmao.
You’re awfully prescient today, matty… what are the winning Lotto numbers for tonight?!?
This costs peanuts to kick the tires and is a very good roll of the dice. If Roansy has anything in the tank, this will prove to be a valuable roster building move. If not, they DFA and move on. I wouldn’t have minded if my Pads did the exact same thing!
When this is only your 2nd move of the entire off season this isn’t a good move.
Gotta start somewheres! They weren’t signing Soto…
Obviously they aren’t signing anybody worth anything. Enjoy your team of stars.
You stink.
Watch him pitch a no hitter against the Pirates
Nah; it will be a perfect game.
Not a bad flier. He’s young enough to hope for a rebound. If he doesn’t work out just subject him to waivers, possibly stash him in minors if he clears.
Dont need fliers, need real players
Agreed but you also need depth, which is what I view this signing as. I don’t think anyone is counting on him to eat significant MLB innings at this point.
I’m about to give up on the Reds organization.
I’ve never seen such a cheap@zz group. SELL THE TEAM
Please do. Do you know the largest contract handed out by Krall the last few years? The $53MM extension of Hunter Greene, which keeps him a Red through 2029 (and 2030 at a $20MM team option). What a waste of money (he said sarcastically!) Why not support a team with unlimited financial resources if unbridles spending is what you expect for your support? I actually want the Reds to remain inside a fiscally responsible payroll and concentrate on drafting and development -which is the only real chance small market MLB teams have in the current environment.
Dear reds what about Michael Lorenzen.. Could start and relieve and would have an extra bat if needed. Probably get him for about 5-6 million. He made 4.5 million last year. Every year you do same thing wait till January/February for bottom of bucket cheap players that most of time don’t work out. Last 3-4 years have signed 3 players at 3 years $45 million and only 1 that worked was Castellano. Maybe we need a new general manager….