3 Reds that won’t be on the roster by September 1 and why

The Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell has been on the hot seat for the better part of the year. He's made some questionable decisions for the Reds and without the spectacular play from Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene, this team could be in the basement of the National League.

They have a lot of changes that need to be made to their active roster. Nick Martinez is a better fit for the bullpen, so somebody is going to need to be moved down when Cincinnati finds their fifth starter. They also have top prospect Zach Maxwell who could make his debut any day. Some of Cincinnati's current players won't be on the roster by September 1st.

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3. Yosver Zulueta will be optioned back to Triple-A this month

Let's get into the most obvious name on this list, reliever Yosver Zulueta. The righty is only with Cincinnati because the Reds don't have a fifth starter right now and they dealt away Lucas Sims. Once Cincinnati moves Nick Martinez back to the bullpen and elevates a starter like Brandon Williamson, Julian Aguiar or even Rhett Lowder, Zulueta will be sent back down. It's cut and dry.

The righty isn't a bad pitcher. He has the potential to turn into a solid piece in the Reds bullpen, but that just won't happen this year. He's been hit way too hard in his short Reds career. Given the flexibility in his options, he will be the kind of guy that can get moved up and down this season depending on the health of the other pitchers on the roster.

The other option is Cincinnati elevates a prospect arm like Zach Maxwell over Zulueta. Honestly, the young righty would be better off in Triple-A getting the experience and workload that he deserves in order to keep progressing as a young pitcher.

2. Joey Wiemer will be optioned when Will Benson returns

This is one that I'm not certain about. When Will Benson returns, the Reds will be left with a tough decision. Somebody will have to be the odd man out. TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Spencer Steer are all safe as well as all of the infielders. Noelvi Marte could be sent down in order to get his confidence back, but that's not the most likely option. Stuart Fairchild is safe because of his excellent defense and his ability to crush lefties.

That leaves the Reds with the decision between Will Benson and new addition Joey Wiemer. Since Wiemer is the new addition and the Reds have plenty of bats to slot in against left-handed pitchers, my guess is they will send Wiemer down when they bring Benson back.

There's still the off chance that the Reds activate Benson again and send him down to Triple-A instead of Wiemer. They chose to elevate Wiemer over Rece Hinds, so they must have a good feeling about their newest addition.

Still, the right idea here is to move Wiemer down so they can platoon three lefties in the outfield against a right-handed pitcher. David Bell loves to platoon, and they could use the additional left-handed bat to make this easier.

1. Fernando Cruz will be optioned or land on the 'phantom IL' this month

Earlier in the season, this idea would seem absolutely ridiculous. Fernando Cruz is an incredible talent and one of the best relievers on the current Reds team. He ranks among the top of the league in reliever strikeouts and strikeout percentage. He has a ton of holds this year and some even argued that he should be the team's closer over Alexis Diaz while Diaz was struggling earlier this year.

But he desperately needs a break and a chance to find his confidence back. Since the beginning of July, Cruz has been bad. Over nine innings, he's allowed 11 earned runs on 13 hits and seven walks. He has thrown a ton of wild pitches and given up more hard contact over the last month than he had in the first three months combined.

He could be a candidate for the "phantom IL" or just a move to Triple-A for a few appearances. At the end of the day, Cruz is a dynamic reliever with the potential to be tremendously dominant due to his incredible splitter. But right now, he just isn't that guy. Right now, he's lost who he truly is and a stint in Triple-A could help him get that back. It wouldn't be long, but it would be necessary.