Photo: Doug Gray
The first cuts of spring training came today for the Cincinnati Reds. The club sent six players back to minor league camp, including their #9 rated prospect Cam Collier. Along with him there were three other position players and two pitchers that were reassigned to minor league spring training. Catcher Connor Burns, infielders Michael Toglia and Michael Chavis, and pitchers Joel Valdez and Carson Spiers will all head off to the other side of the spring training complex.
Let’s start with the pitchers because that’s real easy. Both lefty Joel Valdez and righty Carson Spiers are injured and didn’t appear in a game yet. Valdez is dealing with a shoulder injury that got him shut down earlier this spring. Spiers is recovering from Tommy John surgery in the middle of last August and isn’t likely to pitch at all this season.
The position players likely had very little chance to make the team. Cam Collier and Connor Burns have never played above Double-A and neither has a full season with the Lookouts. Both are also blocked at this point, with Collier playing first and third base and the Reds have a plethora of options at both positions right now. Burns is a career .178 hitter and while he is one of the best defensive catchers around, that’s not going to get you many looks in spring training when you also have never played in Triple-A.
As far as their performances, Cam Collier had gone 1-7 in his limited action. Connor Burns played even less. The catcher went 0-2 before he was sent back to minor league camp.
The two older guys from the position group that was sent down today may have had a very outside shot at making the club if a lot of things went their way and plenty of things went the wrong way for some others on the injury front early in camp. Michael Toglia has seen 100+ plate appearances with the Rockies in each of the last four seasons, including 337 of them in 2025. He went 2-9 with two walks and an RBI before being sent down. Michael Chavis has played 357 big league games, but the last one of those came back in 2023. This spring he had gone 3-11 with a home run before he headed back to minor league camp.
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