Reds' 2021 Opening Day roster finalized

CINCINNATI -- The Reds made their last-minute adjustments, setting their 26-man Opening Day roster on Thursday morning.

Cincinnati activated Joey Votto from the injured list and optioned infielder Max Schrock and outfielder Mark Payton to their alternate training site in Louisville. That means the final two bench spots went to outfielder Aristides Aquino and infielder Alex Blandino.

The other moves were expected formalities. Jonathan India’s contract was selected from Double-A Chattanooga, while Shogo Akiyama, Sonny Gray and Michael Lorenzen were placed on the 10-day injured list.

To make room on the 40-man roster for India, pitcher Edgar García was designated for assignment.

Here is how the 26-man roster looks.

Catcher (2): Tucker Barnhart, Tyler Stephenson
This gives the Reds a lefty and righty hitter to form their catching tandem. Barnhart is a two-time Gold Glove winner -- including last season -- and will be the veteran to help further the progress of the rookie Stephenson, who offers right-handed power and improving defense.

First base (1): Joey Votto
This was the final piece of the puzzle when it was determined Votto was ready to go. He missed about two weeks to recover from COVID-19, and he only had about a week to catch up on missed at-bats.

Second base (1): Jonathan India
Ranked as the organization’s No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, India kept producing since he made the official move from Minor League camp to big league camp. He’s shown he can handle whatever comes his way, offensively and defensively.

Third base (1): Mike Moustakas
Moustakas returns to the position he played at for more than a decade in Kansas City and Milwaukee.

Shortstop (1): Eugenio Suárez
Suárez hasn’t played shortstop regularly since 2015, but he felt ready after a couple of weeks’ worth of spring games at his old position. There will be concern about his range after he’s manned third base the past five seasons, but the club is betting he will improve as the seasons goes on.

Outfield (5): Nick Castellanos, Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, Tyler Naquin, Aristides Aquino
Aquino is out of options, which helped his cause. But he will be a right-handed bat for left field on days the matchup isn’t favorable for the lefty-hitting Winker. Naquin can man center field as a backup to Senzel until Akiyama is ready.

Utility (2): Alex Blandino, Kyle Farmer
The change of the shortstop plan most negatively affected Farmer, who showed he could handle the job defensively. He returns to a utility role where he can play every infield spot, left field and serve as the third catcher. Blandino has had an excellent camp, both offensively and defensively.

Starting pitchers (5): Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, Jeff Hoffman, José De León, Wade Miley
This group was hit by injuries the most with Gray likely out until the middle of April because of mid-back spasms and Lorenzen dealing with a slight right shoulder strain. This gives De León and Hoffman a chance to establish themselves for at least one or two starts.

Relievers (8): Sean Doolittle, Amir Garrett, Lucas Sims, Tejay Antone, Cionel Pérez, Cam Bedrosian, Sal Romano, Carson Fulmer
After injuries, Garrett and Sims appeared to be back on track. Garrett struck out 10 batters in four innings, including the side in each of his first three games. There will not be one closer as Garrett, Sims and Doolittle will all have chances to lock down games in the ninth inning.