Cincinnati Reds Roster News: Santiago Espinal & Ian Gibaut REMOVED From 40 Man MLB Off Season Begins

Cincinnati Reds Roster News: Santiago Espinal & Ian Gibaut REMOVED From 40 Man MLB Off Season Begins

The calendar turns to November, which means a lot of decisions are on the horizon for the Cincinnati Reds. The first couple coming last night. Nick, happy November. What were you for for Halloween? Uh, I was a dad uh trying not to get my kids hit by traffic. The most important job. Successful. Successful. I will I will make sure I make successful. So, welcome in everybody. What about you? Uh, yeah. I went in my typical sweatshirt and jeans and yeah, just uh tipped my cap and said thank you on behalf of my child who refuses to be uh considerate and say thank you and do all the right things. But here we are nonetheless. Chatterbox Reds. Uh, look, Nick, uh, I don’t think this is necessarily a super shocking show that we’re going to be having, but still worthy conversations, uh, news coming out over the last several days, uh, depending on when you’re listening to this podcast. Um, but we’ll start with, I guess, maybe some news that some folks wish would have happened earlier, uh, maybe even during the season, and that is Santiago Espanol removed from the 40man roster. Uh, officially, he is outrighted to Louisville. Explain to everybody what that means, and just your general take on the Santiago Espanol era in the Cincinnati Reds. Yeah. So, he’s removed from the 40man roster basically to create a roster spot as as the Reds are are running low on those. I think they’re still, if I counted right, we’ll still have one left depending on um how many players they pick up on options and whatnot coming down the road. Uh but removed from the 40man roster, typically when a player is removed from the 40man roster at this stage, they end up electing free agency. So, that’s what I would expect would happen with Santiago Espanol. I guess it’s possible it goes otherwise, but I would expect that he will be a free agent and the Reds just went ahead and did this now as opposed to waiting till the non-tender deadline. Maybe they want that roster spot early. Maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe they’re just trying to do right by Santiago Espanol and allow him to be a free agent uh when free agency starts, which is five days after the World Series ends. So, it’ll be starting here uh next week. Yeah. And look, I mean, this is uh going back in time real quick. Espanol um obviously acquired from the Blue Jays uh prior to this past season. Um defensively obviously was one of the better defenders for the Cincinnati Reds team and and had flexibility on defense. But as the year went on and his bat continued to to slump, his role continued to slack and there are other guys that just kind of stepped in and took advantage of opportunities that Santiago Espanol really didn’t have a a role moving forward. it felt like at this point. Yeah, it’s it’s very puzzling, too. Like, and this isn’t a surprising move. I mean, we said I said there was no way the Reds are going to tender Santiago Espanol contract expected to make $2.9 million. Like, that’s just not going to happen with where the Reds are. After they got Kabrian Hayes, Santiago Espanol became completely expendable. And it it does make it even more frustrating as to why he stayed on the roster all the way till the end of the season. uh got a couple at bats like three at bats in September if if I remember it was not a lot and uh it just it makes it puzzling why you didn’t cut bait earlier but it is what it is at this point. Uh what I will say about Santiago Espanol um I will I do want to say there is positives with Santiago Espan I want to just like pile on this guy actually thought the trade for Santiago Espanol was one of the smarter trades the Reds have made. Uh Reds traded uh Chris uh M Mc Melvin for him. A guy with a currently has a mid4 RA still an Aball, not a top 30 prospect by the Toronto Blue Jays. Uh of course they picked him up right after uh Matt Mlan was pretty was injured and ended up being out for the year and Nov Marte was suspended and he was really good in his role in 2024. Ended up playing every day. Um put up some kind of unsustainable numbers but hit lefties really well which is something he’s had a track record for. Um, but then just as the 2025 season went on, he just became unnecessary. You have Kabrian Hayes, you have a healthy MLAN, you have Sal Stewart, you also now have CES now as a third base options. You’re playing a lot of of of third base. Uh, but you know, look, the Espenol situation could have looked a lot different if Matt Mlan would have gotten hurt like a lot of people thought was a possibility, would have gotten hurt and stayed hurt for a large portion of the year. And then you would have basically had a Gavin Lux Santiago Espanol platoon at second base which would have been you know kind of fine. It would have been better than anything else the Reds had. So Matt Mlan’s health kind of made the Espanol on the roster look worse kind of if that makes sense. Yeah. He just became unnecessary. You know, the I think one of the more frustrating pieces of Tito’s tenure was his tendency to go to defensive replacements early in game. Santiago Espanol obviously oftentimes was that defensive replacement either at third base or uh before they got Krian Hayes or or otherwise. And so, um, you know, it was definitely frustrating and I know you retweeted a couple tweets from earlier in the season about, uh, Santiago Espinol getting key at bats and just, you know, unfortunate he was put in those situations that really are not what he was intended to be uh, on this roster for. So, nonetheless, I I I think at this point um, you tip your cap. You thank Santiago Espanol for his for his service and uh you wish him the best of luck in free agency, but 2.9 million doesn’t make any real sense and he was one of those pretty clear non-tender candidates uh coming into this off season. So, no real surprise there. And before we get into another nonsurprise move, uh we want to take a quick break and say thank you to our sponsors. Deep South Commodities is a proud supporter of Chatterbox Reds and our deep drive of the day and DSC is a leader in renewable commodities for bofuel production specializing in used cooking oil collection aggregation and sales. Visit www.deepsouthcommodmodities.com for more information. Thanks as always to our friends at DSC. And we also want to remind you that you can call or text 988 anytime, day or night. The 90-day suicide and crisis lifeline is a place to get support for anything related to mental health. Whether it’s an immediate crisis, simply wanting to find out how to connect with care, or anything in between. It’s a 100% confidential, secure, and anonymous way to reach out for help when you don’t know where else to turn. To connect, call or text 988 or visit mantherapy.org to get help. It’s okay not to be okay. All right, Nick. Santiago Espanol not the only red that was outrighted to Louisville this past week. Ian Jabau um also uh outrighted to Louisville, removed from the 40man roster. Uh unlike Santiago Espanol, we already have news that he has cleared waiverss and has elected free agency. Yeah, Ian Jabbo, this one shouldn’t come as any surprise. Been hurt. Uh this is kind of deja vu for Jabbo. He was actually non-tendered. made it a little bit longer uh in the process last year was dawn tendered and then ended up coming back to the Reds on a minor league deal in late January. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens again. I just don’t see Ian Jabau getting a major league deal. Espanol could get a major league deal. I think there’s a team that might be willing. I mean, I don’t think anyone’s going to pay 2.9 million, but someone might offer him a buck and a half like Colorado Rockies or the Chicago White Sox. guy that that you could play every day that wouldn’t embarrass you. And like that might sound silly to people, but like there are bad teams that know they’re going to be bad that just kind of want players that that don’t embarrass you. A guy that kind of comes to mind as a guy like Donovan Solano was on the 2022 red just a guy was a professional that wasn’t great but but you know did that. So yeah, I I would be very shocked if he gets a major league deal. His velocity was down a little bit um last year. Um but again, he was hurt the whole year and didn’t have any any time to come back. Roller coaster season. Um obviously uh uh closed was the closer on opening day and blew the save and didn’t really get to do a whole lot with the Reds, but it was a really good pickup for the Reds. Craig, uh guy the Reds picked up on a minor league deal was great for the Reds. I mean, he was so good in in 2023. Um and I’d love to get him back on a minor league deal. And as we’re going to talk about here in a second, I think the the pitchers that the Reds add on minor league deals for their bullpen, they’re going to need a lot of them. Might be one of the most underrated. I think it is the most underrated storyline this offseason. Yeah, I mean, Ian Jabbo projected in the 1.5 million range. Certainly, uh, pretty obvious move here from the Reds. nothing surprising, but it kind of does lead you into the conversation. And we’ve talked about this before, so we won’t spend a ton of time on it, but truth of the matter is is that this bullpen and its outlook for 2026 is somewhat bleak. And uh for those of you watching on YouTube, Nick’s putting a graphic up kind of walking through it, but um you know, the rotation is what it is, but from the bullpen perspective, you look at the guys that were part of this bullpen in 2025. Ailio Pagan uh certainly at risk of losing him. Sam Mole, Bren Sudter, Scott Barlo. Uh you’re really only left with Tony Santion, Graham Ashcraft, Connor Phillips. Uh you can throw Zack Maxwell, Luis May in there, Lion Richardson, a lot of unproven guys. Uh so from my perspective at least, obviously the power bat is is a need, but um filling out this bullpen might be one of the most important um tasks for this Red’s front office this off season. Yeah. And it’s probably going to be a mix of getting a couple veteran guys uh and and it could possibly be some of the ones they had. They could resign Ailio Pagan. I don’t see it happening, but you know what? Let’s say Alio Pagan’s market doesn’t turn out to be what he’s expecting it to be. I could see a scenario where he comes back to the Reds in the the 11th hour uh in the offseason on a on a one-year deal or something like that. Uh Scott Barlo, I don’t think he’s worth six and a half million dollars, but you know what? It’s actually five and a half because he has the million dollar buyout. But I don’t know, man. He looked really good at the end of last year after I thought his arm was dead. So, uh he was really good at the beginning. Then he had a little stretch there in the the middle of the se towards the end, but middle end se of the season that he went through a tough stretch and then finished off pretty strong it felt like and earned his way back into Tito’s good graces. Yeah. the the Scott Barla just is is trying to predict I think the market really. Okay. So, how how tough is the market? My guess is I I don’t think they pick him up at that much money, but it’s possible um if they just think, hey, you know what, this might be pretty expensive. It might just be better just to take them. But anyways, they’re going to have to pick up some veterans, but there there’s no way the Reds are going to have enough in their budget to pick up enough veterans to completely fill out their bullpen and have some depth. So, they’re going to have to get some some minor league signings. Um, and they’re going to have to hit on at least, I think maybe two of them. Uh, and that’s in addition to these unproven guys, um, becoming proven hopefully in in 2026. There’s a lot of talent there. I mean, there’s not a single pitcher, you know, uh, Tony Santon, Graham Ashcraft, Connor Phillips, Zack Maxwell, and Luis May. There’s not a lot there’s not a lack of talent there. I mean, those are five of the more talented relievers that that that you could you could think of. Um, but outside of I guess Tony Santion is the most proven at this point. Yeah, I Tony Santon certainly has to be the favorite going into 2026 to be your back in the bullpen. Um, how they fill it out from there is to be determined because I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of guys that have defined roles at this point. You’d love to see Connor Phillips continue the development that he had at the end of this past year. Um, but again, a obviously Connor Phillips was in that position for a reason. he struggled mightily last year uh and even early on this year. So, um we’ll be interesting to see what happens there and um and go from there. But it all begins on November 6th, Nick. Um and that’s when free agents can actually begin to sign. Obviously, uh communication can happen before then over the next five or so days. um and and they can start those negotiations, but nobody can actually officially sign until November 6th. So, let’s take a quick look at this offseason calendar, Nick. Yeah, we have official dates now. Uh we were when we did the last show, I had to say they were unofficial, and I I was pretty close. I was pretty close on them. Uh but yeah, of course, free agency officially begins because there’s a game seven of the World Series. It’s 5 days after. It’s November 6th. Uh so next Friday, Friday of this week if you’re listening uh at the beginning of uh uh your work week. Uh the GM meetings are November 10th through 13th. There’s not usually a whole lot of that actually happens at that, but we’ll keep our our eyes on that. Uh November 18th, this will be a big one. This will be something we will be talking about doing a show for sure when we get closer to the deadline to protect players ahead of the rule five draft. I’m going to wait for Mark Sheldon’s article to come out because he always has someone in there that I didn’t think of that he’s usually right on and we’ll talk about that. Uh, and that’s when we’ll do a show for that. Then November 21st is the non-tender deadline or the deadline to tender contracts for arbitration eligible players officially. So that’s I guess the Gavin Lux uh of the world is maybe the the the biggest potential there. And then the big one, uh, December 8th through 11th, the winter meetings in Orlando. Sometimes, Craig, they are wild and there’s trades left and right. Sometimes it’s more of a groundwork type thing. Uh, but for a team in the Reds that I expect to be very aggressive this offseason with trades, that is going to be a very, very big uh, three days. Then, of course, Redsfest in January and spring training not that far away in uh, in February. Yeah, obviously uh, some decisions to be made on on rule five. Leo Balazar in the Arizona Fall League so far this year has played in 17 games. He’s hitting .353 with an OPS at sitting at 846. He has 12 RBI’s on the year. Cam Collier, another candidate there to be protected and be added to the 40man roster. Uh he’s hitting 245 with a 403 on base percentage, 780 slugging percentage. Both guys that certainly the Cincinnati Reds are keeping their eyes on. Uh not necessarily a rule five guy, but Alfredo Duno, just for a quick update from uh Arizona. Duno has played in 11 games. Uh batting average not necessarily there at this point, hitting just a buck 88 with a 372 on base percentage and a 591 OPS. You still have one more year on Collier. Collier is not uh not till 2026. We’ll have to make that decision. Okay. Well, on behalf of our bet with Trace that says that Cam Collier is going to debut before the end of 2026, I’m going to go ahead and say that he’s going to be on the 40man roster at some point this year. Anyway, there you go. Um, but yeah, it’s been uh it’s been been interesting to see those guys and and certainly Leo and and Cam have have played well. And um I got to be honest though, seeing some of those numbers from Arizona and some of the gaudy stats that are being put up by some of those guys out there. Um definitely interesting to see guys like Kevin McGonagal with an OPS over a thousand. Uh Max Anderson, uh Parks Harbor all over a thousand as well. It’s definitely uh been fun to keep an eye out in in Arizona as that goes on. So, if you haven’t already, make sure you check out the Arizona Fall League uh website um for all those stats and certainly uh I believe that season should be wrapping up pretty soon. Um I don’t remember the exact date that it that it ends, but it obviously ends before the rule five draft deadline, I would imagine. Right. I I think it goes like the whole month. Uh all the way through November. Let me look. I There we go. Full season schedule. Oh, that’s not the right one. Through November 15th is the championship. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. This a couple weeks. Got a couple weeks. Yep. So, make sure you check that out. Uh, I don’t want to mispronounce the uh team name, so I’m not gonna begin to act like I can tell you what team the uh Red’s players are on. Poria. They’re on the Peoria team. Just Peoria. I don’t know the nickname. Juventus or something like that. Um, Java something. Yeah, it definitely starts with a J. Um anyway, as always, uh Chatterbox Reds is your home for all breaking news and rumors throughout the entire off season. Certainly, as free agency begins here on November 6, I would expect that we’ll be starting to do some more regular content and uh certainly keeping up on a lot of those rumors as they start to fly when free agency begins and the general managers meeting uh commence in Las Vegas. But until next time for Nick Kirby, I’m Craig Sandlin. This has been Chatterbox Reds. We appreciate you tuning in. If you haven’t already, make sure you click the like button. If you’re watching on YouTube, subscribe. We appreciate the support for sure. And make sure you give the same support to all of our great Chatterbox content creators. They’re doing a great job. And there’s a lot of teams that are making a lot of uh great noise this season as well. So, uh, make sure you give all of our our, uh, content creators a like and a follow. And until next time, go Reds. Heat. [Music]

Nick Kirby and Craig Sandlin break down the latest Cincinnati Reds roster moves and what they mean for the offseason ahead. They discuss Santiago Espinal being optioned and removed from the 40-man roster — a move that likely signals the end of his time in Cincinnati. The guys look back on Espinal’s two seasons with the Reds, Terry Francona’s use of him, and the highlights of his tenure.

They also dive into Ian Gibaut electing free agency after being optioned, analyzing how his departure impacts the bullpen picture heading into the offseason. Nick and Craig assess who’s in, who’s out, and the key questions the Reds face as they rebuild their relief corps.

Plus, they share updates on Leo Balcazar, Cam Collier, Alfredo Duno, and other Reds prospects shining in the Arizona Fall League — and finish with a full rundown of the upcoming MLB offseason calendar.

The State of the Team

After finishing with 83 wins and clinching a wild-card berth under first-year manager Terry Francona, the Reds find themselves in an interesting spot. They’ve taken a step forward, but the nature of that step is more retooling than full-blown rebuild. With the rotation showing promise and the bullpen still needing refinement, the focus now shifts to turning solid into serious.

The pitching performed well — the Reds’ starters ranked among the top third of MLB teams in ERA, and the rotation has real upside. But at the same time, the offense lagged. The club ranked near the bottom in several key offensive categories, with power, situational hitting, and strikeouts all areas of concern.

Priority Areas for the Offseason

1. Improving the offense
This is the largest outward gap on the roster. The Reds hit for less power than expected and struggled in clutch situations. Given their home park — Great American Ball Park — is one of the most hitter-friendly venues in baseball, improvement in the lineup isn’t just desirable, it’s necessary. The question is whether Cincinnati can land a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat or if they’ll rely on internal development and smaller additions. Some analysts believe a splash move could be on the table, especially if the front office feels the core is ready to compete now.

2. The bullpen and late-game roles
While the rotation has momentum, the back end of the bullpen remains a question mark. The Reds hold options on relievers like Scott Barlow and Brent Suter, but both could move on given recent performance and projected cost. The closer’s role is also unsettled if management decides to look outside the organization for stability. They’ll need to decide whether to allocate limited payroll space to this area or focus primarily on offensive upgrades.

3. Managing payroll and roster flexibility
Financially, the Reds are in a manageable but not aggressive position. Their current commitments leave modest flexibility for 2026, meaning ambitious spending isn’t likely. Instead, the front office will look to make smart, efficient moves — leveraging trades, internal development, and selective free-agent signings. This offseason will test their creativity more than their checkbook.

4. Protecting and developing the young core
Cincinnati’s youthful foundation remains its biggest strength. Players like Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are all entering crucial development years. The challenge is ensuring the club supports that core with the right mix of veterans rather than burdening them with mismatched contracts. The front office must also protect top prospects ahead of the Rule 5 draft and handle arbitration-eligible players carefully to preserve long-term flexibility.

Key Decisions & Timeline

Free agents to monitor: Veterans whose contracts expire this winter could free up valuable roster and payroll space. Their departures—or re-signings—will shape how much budget the Reds can redirect toward areas of need.

Arbitration-eligible players: Several contributors are up for arbitration, and those raises must be factored into the club’s offseason spending plan.

40-man roster management: The Reds must protect key prospects before the Rule 5 draft and decide on non-tender candidates to clear room for future moves.

Trade and free-agency strategy: The front office must determine whether to stay conservative or pursue one or two impact players. A trade could be the most viable path to upgrading the offense without long-term financial strain.

The Outlook: What’s Reasonable to Expect?

Realistically, the Reds are positioned to make at least one significant addition to their lineup, whether via trade or free agency. They’ll likely pursue a right-handed power bat capable of anchoring the middle of the order. On the pitching side, expect them to target bullpen reinforcements, possibly a veteran reliever with closing experience, while giving younger arms a chance to earn roles.