The Cincinnati Reds are on the field this afternoon to take on the San Francisco Giants. But before the game today they made some roster moves, sending six players to the minor leagues and leaving them with 45 players remaining in big league camp. Pitchers Julian Aguiar and Jose Franco, as well as infielders Edwin Arroyo and Leo Balcazar, and outfielder Hector Rodriguez were all optioned to the minor leagues. Pitcher and non-roster invitee Darren McCaughan was reassigned to minor league camp.

Let’s start with Edwin Arroyo. The Reds #6 prospect, Arroyo technically wasn’t in camp in the sense of being in Goodyear. He had left days prior to join Team Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic, which opens up for him and the team on Friday evening at 6pm ET as they take on Colombia. He got some early playing time in big league camp and went 2-10 with a double, run, and an RBI.

Leo Balcazar, like Arroyo, was added to the 40-man roster this past November. The 21-year-old shortstop played in eight games with Cincinnati this spring but wasn’t competing for a spot on the opening day roster as he only has 52 games at the Double-A level. Still, the Reds #12 rated prospect went out and went 4-10 with a run scored in his 10 trips to the plate.

Hector Rodriguez split time last season in Double-A and Triple-A. Cincinnati’s #8 prospect performed better with Chattanooga, but was solid in Louisville. Still just 21-years-old for another week, Rodriguez had a very small chance to grab a roster spot this spring if everything went perfectly for him and some other guys just never got anything going. It didn’t go that way as Rodriguez went 2-13 with a double, steal, and an RBI.

Julian Aguiar is coming back from Tommy John surgery. He ended the 2024 season with the Reds, but also saw his season end a week early because of his elbow injury and then missed all of 2025. The club’s #10 prospect had an outside shot of making the team but now he’ll be heading to the minor leagues to get some work in and try to find his way back to Cincinnati. During his three games in big league camp he allowed five runs in 6.0 innings on eight hits, one walk, and he had eight strikeouts.

Jose Franco is the Reds 2025 RedsMinorLeagues.com Minor League Pitcher of the Year and their #18 prospect. Added to the 40-man roster this past November after splitting the year in Double-A and Triple-A, he had a solid showing in his three games with the Reds in Arizona. He allowed two runs in 4.2 innings on five hits and a walk while striking out eight batters.

For all five of those players this is the first time they have been optioned to the minor leagues and as such will still have three option years remaining starting with the 2026 season.

Darren McCaughan was in camp as a non-roster minor league invitee. He’s pitched in the big leagues in parts of the last five seasons. This spring he pitched in three games for the Reds and allowed one run in 3.0 innings on three hits and two walks while picking up five strikeouts.

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