Cincinnati Reds release Chad Pinder, reassign Brandon Williamson to AAA

Mar 24, 2023 - 5:47 PM

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Chad Pinder has never walked much, and his calling card at this juncture of his career is that he’s probably not the worst defender on the roster at most positions on the field. As it turns out, that wasn’t enough for even the rebuilding (and banged-up) Cincinnati Reds, as they officially released the former Oakland Athletic on Friday in the team’s latest round of roster cuts.

The Reds announced said move on Twitter along with the news that each of Chase Anderson and Brandon Williamson had been sent to minor league camp.

Apologies to Matt Reynolds, who I probably should’ve included in the previous paragraph. He’s out of big league camp for the time being, too.

The Pinder news could be greeted from a number of different angles. For one, it may be an indication that while Nick Senzel is still going to miss the start of the year, his health may be improving quickly enough that his versatility will fill what Pinder would have. It also may well be an indication that the team is satisfied with the IF/OF versatility of Jose Barrero, who they’ve used recently in CF, which would give them a lot more shuffleability in their defensive lineups.

It could also mean they’re intrigued by Henry Ramos, who may well be more firmly in the OF mix for Opening Day than we once thought.

As for the pitching, well, it’s not good behind the front three of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Graham Ashcraft. That we long ago knew. What’s worth emphasizing, however, is that with a pair of off-days in the first week of the Reds season, they won’t really need a “5th” starter for their rotation until mid-April, something that may well have factored into their decision to boot both Anderson and Williamson to minor league camp. That 4th starter spot now looks to be Luis Cessa and only Luis Cessa, even though that takes one of the precious few proven relievers out of the threadbare bullpen mix.

There will be more decision-making on display on the Reds roster in the week running up to Opening Day. Stay tuned!