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5 Reds on the 40-man roster who won't survive the 2024 season

The Cincinnati Reds are one of the most exciting teams in baseball, but not all of their 40-man roster will survive the season.

By Zach Pressnell

Aug 16, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds left fielder Stuart Fairchild (17) center
Aug 16, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds left fielder Stuart Fairchild (17) center / David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
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4. Alex Young could see himself off the team by season's end

A season ago, there was a point in time where Alex Young was one of the more valuable relievers in the Reds bullpen. For a while, Young was the only lefty in manager David Bell's bullpen. Cincinnati realized this big hole and, in an attempt to chase a playoff berth, traded for Sam Moll from the Athletics. Moll provided the Reds with a lefty specialist, taking a huge load off of Young's shoulders.

But Cincinnati doesn't have this problem this season. In fact, they could end up with too many left-handed options for their 2024 bullpen. As of now, they would likely employ the services of Young, Moll, and new addition Brent Suter as left-handed options in their bullpen. Of the three, Young is the third-best option, most notably against left-handed hitters, where he performs worse than Suter or Moll.

The issue of too many lefties in the bullpen arises when you look deeper at this pitching staff. There are five spots in the starting rotation. David Bell will use Hunter Greene, Frankie Montas, and Graham Ashcraft for sure in this rotation. That leaves two remaining spots for Nick Martinez (RHP), Andrew Abbott (LHP), Nick Lodolo (LHP), and Brandon Williamson (LHP).

The odd men out of this rotation will include one of these high-ceiling, young lefties. There's a good chance that Bell and the Reds staff would rather opt to use Lodolo, Williamson or Abbott as a long reliever rather than sending them to Triple-A. If they do, Alex Young loses his roster spot.

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