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Reds Outright Brandon Allen

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12:33pm: The Reds have outrighted Allen to Triple-A Louisville, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets.

9:24am: The Reds have announced that they’ve designated first baseman and outfielder Brandon Allen for assignment. The move clears roster space for Tim Melville, who will start this afternoon.

Allen never actually made a plate appearance for the Reds. They signed him to a minor-league deal in November and selected his contract on Friday, but he did not appear in a game. The 30-year-old played for the Mets’ Triple-A team in Las Vegas last season, batting .273/.350/.478. He last played in the big leagues in 2012, and he compiled a .203/.290/.375 line in parts of four seasons in the bigs.

Reds To Select Tim Melville's Contract

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  • The Reds will select the contract of righty Tim Melville tomorrow so that he can make a spot start in place of Anthony DeSclafani, who’s dealing with an oblique injury, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. The Reds say that DeSclafani hasn’t had a setback, but isn’t quite ready to pitch. The Reds signed Melville to a minor-league deal in November after he posted a 4.63 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 for the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo.

Anthony DeSclafani Scratched Again

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  • Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani will be bumped once again after being expected to make his season debut on Sunday, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. Manager Bryan Price said there hasn’t been a setback, but suggested that the club was exercising added caution. DeSclafani had been slated for Opening Day duties, but is trying to work through an oblique strain.

Reds Select Brandon Allen's Contract, Option Robert Stephenson

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  • The Reds announced today that they have selected the contract of first baseman Brandon Allen, who will join the big league club and replace right-hander Robert Stephenson, who was optioned to Triple-A following his MLB debut. (Stephenson was reportedly likely to make just one start in his brief callup.) Allen is a well-traveled minor league veteran and formerly well-regarded prospect that last appeared in the Majors with the 2012 Rays. The 30-year-old has excelled at the Triple-A level throughout his career, batting .276/.371/.502 in 624 games. However, he’s never experienced much success in the Majors, where his batting line is a substantially inferior .203/.290/.375 in 389 plate appearances. Allen has walked at nearly an 11 percent clip in the Majors, but he’s also punched out in more than a third of his plate appearances as well. Cincinnati does not need to make a corresponding move, as the club had an open spot on its 40-man roster.

Reds Return Rule 5 Pick Jake Cave To Yankees

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Reds’ Rule 5 selection Jake Cave has been sent back to the Yankees, MLB.com’s Matt Kardos reports on Twitter. It appears that New York is accepting his return, as Cave is said to be heading to Triple-A.

Cincinnati had designated Cave for assignment on Sunday, but he’s obviously cleared waivers already. The 23-year-old hasn’t shown much pop in his recent minor league results or his relatively extensive spring action with the Reds. But as MLBTR’s Brad Johnson explained in previewing the Rule 5 festivities, Cave could still turn into a useful player, particularly if he can tap into some of the power and speed tools he’s shown at times.

Reds Promote Robert Stephenson

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  • The Reds have placed right-hander Homer Bailey on the disabled list and promoted fellow right-hander and top prospect Robert Stephenson, the club announced. However, it appears that Stephenson, who rates among the game’s 35 best minor leaguers (per Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN’s Keith Law) will merely be making a spot start and isn’t yet being viewed as a long-term option in the rotation; C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Stephenson will likely be optioned back to Triple-A following his start, as right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will be ready to come of the DL and join the rotation on April 10. Cincinnati currently has Raisel Iglesias, Brandon Finnegan and Stephenson lined up for their season-opening series against the Phillies, with Alfredo Simon set to start the club’s fourth game of the year. DeSclafani should grab Stephenson’s spot in the rotation’s second cycle of the season, and right-hander Jon Moscot should be able to return mid-month — possibly to start on April 17. As such, Stephenson’s promotion could simply amount to a glimpse of the future for Reds fans at this time, though Cincinnati’s rotation picture is fluid enough to imagine Stephenson changing their plans with a dominant showing. Service time doesn’t figure to be a major factor here, as the Reds would only lose a year of control if Stephenson were to accrue 172 days of service this season, and a quick return to the minors would make that unlikely.

Reds Designate Jake Cave For Assignment

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The Reds announced that they have designated Jake Cave for assignment, as John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer tweets.  Cave, 23, was waived days ago by Cincinnati but was not claimed by another team.

Cave was plucked from the Yankees’ roster in December’s Rule 5 draft but he did not make enough of an impression on Reds brass in recent weeks to warrant a roster spot.  In 56 Spring Training plate appearances, Cave slashed .224/.309/.306.   Meanwhile, in 132 Double-A and Triple-A games (mostly Double-A) last year, Cave drew attention with a .278/.339/.359 line.

In a December preview of the Rule 5 draft, MLBTR’s Brad Johnson highlighted Cave’s ability to play all three outfield positions and his plate discipline.  However, injuries prevented the lefty from fulfilling his potential and he now profiles as a fourth outfield type.

Reds To Sign Steve Delabar

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The Reds have agreed to terms with righty reliever Steve Delabar to a minor-league deal, radio pre-game host Lance McAllister writes. (The news was also reportedly on their radio broadcast earlier today.) Delabar is a client of Meister Sports Management. A Kentucky native, Delabar has history in the Cincinnati area, having pitched for the independent Florence Freedom in the Cincinnati suburbs before eventually making it to the big leagues.

The Reds currently have several key pitchers on the disabled list and have a number of apparent holes in both their rotation and their bullpen (leading to their recent additions of Ross Ohlendorf and Dan Straily). It’s easy to see how signing with the Reds could get Delabar back to the Majors in short order.

The Blue Jays released the 32-year-old Delabar earlier this week, paying him a fifth of the $835K salary to which he agreed this offseason. He was out of options. Delabar had a terrific 2013 campaign in which he struck out 12.6 batters per nine innings and earned a spot on the AL All-Star roster, but he has not been quite the same since a stint on the DL with shoulder soreness late that year (although it’s not clear that the shoulder issue has been the reason he’s struggled). His control, never a strength, left him in 2014, and he spent about half the season in the minors. Last year was similar, and he posted a 5.22 ERA and 4.3 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings in the bigs. He did have 9.2 K/9 and mid-90s velocity, although he threw about 1.5 MPH less than he threw in 2013.

A Look At The Reds' Medical Decisionmaking

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Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer has penned an interesting piece on the process for evaluating medicals in prospective trades — a matter that has taken on increasingly public significance with several recent swaps blown up after agreement was reportedly reached in principle. He chats at length with Reds orthopedist Dr. Timothy Kremchek and GM Dick Williams about the “streamlined” but still-nuanced assessment of player health in finalizing trades. “You’re hearing more about the ones that don’t happen,” Williams explained. “I do think because the technology is better. In the old days, it’s like, ‘Well, he has a sore elbow, but I’m sure it’ll be fine by spring.’ Now they’re taking scans and x-rays and you’re getting a lot more detail. There’s a lot more opportunity for interpretation. The dollars have gotten so much bigger that doctors don’t want to be the scapegoat.” The article is well worth a full read.

Reds Claim Dan Straily From Padres

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The Reds have claimed righty Dan Straily from the Padres, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. It was reported earlier today that the Padres had placed Straily on waivers.

Straily spent most of last season pitching for the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate in Fresno, where he produced a 4.77 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 122 2/3 innings. He previously spent about a season and a half in the Athletics’ rotation, though, and his combination of relative youth (27), controllability (he’s still not yet eligible for arbitration) and experience make him an understandable target for a rebuilding team like the Reds. Straily can also start or relieve, and he can be optioned. The Reds’ current role for him is unclear, but it’s easy to see how they might find him useful in a variety of contexts, particularly given their injury-ravaged rotation and unsettled bullpen.

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