The Cincinnati Reds have been remaking their 40-man roster in a big way since the 2016 season ended. Here’s a list of the guys that have been added, and removed, since the season ended. Some players appear on both lists.

More than a few of these guys never appeared in a game for the organization. They were waiver claim pick ups and then releases later on when someone better came along. Still, this is a very big list of players that have entered and left the organization in four months.

With all of the movement though, brings up an interesting situation. The Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster currently has 24 pitchers on it. That leaves them with 16 position players on the 40-man roster. Let’s just assume that the 25-man roster is going to have these players on it:

That’s 11 players. There really isn’t a true backup outfielder there. Both Jose Peraza and Arismendy Alcantara can be used there, but both are infielders by trade. If Devin Mesoraco isn’t 100%, the team may need to carry a third catcher. Right now, that looks like Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner. That could change with spring performance of non-roster invitees, or Turner. If that happens, that makes 12 position players.

That would leave one more spot needed on the bench. Here are the remaining players on the 40-man roster: Dilson Herrera, Aristides Aquino, Phillip Ervin and Jesse Winker. None of those players seem to be the guys the organization would like to be on the bench. Now, there’s a small chance that Jesse Winker wins a starting job out of spring training and pushes Schebler or Duvall to the bench. That, however, seems unlikely if for no other reason that service time reasons.

Aristides Aquino has never played in Double-A, so there’s next to no way he makes the team out of spring. Phillip Ervin has never played in Triple-A, and while he may actually be a solid bench player right now, probably isn’t an option for multiple different reasons. Dilson Herrera is pretty much limited as only a second baseman, making him a poor choice to play off of the bench.

At this point, trades can create room to push someone into the mix. But, with how the 40-man roster looks right now, filling out the Cincinnati Reds bench is going to be difficult. There is likely going to need to be a move made to add someone between now and the end of spring training to fill out the bench in a reasonable way.