It wasn’t long ago when teams could bring up their entire 40-man roster when September rolled around if they chose to do so. That’s no longer the case. Teams are limited to just 28 players on the active roster now – just two additional spots from what they get all season. With September upon us, the Reds added three players and let one go. The Cincinnati Reds have activated outfielder Jake Fraley, and pitchers Brent Suter and Brandon Williamson from the injured list. They also designated David Buchanan for assignment in order to clear one spot on the 26 and 40-man rosters for Williamson.
We learned late last night that Brandon Williamson would be activated today in order to be today’s starting pitcher. We didn’t know what the other move(s) would be until this morning. Williamson attempted to rehab back in May, but after four starts he was shut back down and then didn’t pitch again in games for nearly three months. Earlier this week he returned to the mound and threw 2.2 innings of shutout baseball while on rehab with the Louisville Bats in Triple-A. With the club running out of pitchers it appears the decision was made that Williamson might as well pitch with the big league club instead of continuing rehab to build back up and make his 2024 debut with Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.
Brent Suter did not miss as much time as Brandon Williamson, but after tearing his left teras major muscle in his back/shoulder area he was put on the injured list on July 20th and missed the six weeks after that. He began a rehab stint in Louisville last week and is ready to get back on the big league mound.
Jake Fraley was mired in a slump, going 4-25 from August 9th through the 20th before he landed on the injured list with a sprained knee. He missed over the minimum amount of time before returning.
For David Buchanan, he got back to the big leagues yesterday for the first time in 10 years. But after allowing a run in 3.1 innings of relief the Reds designated him for assignment the next day.
I’m not sure how to look this up, but the Cincinnati Reds have designated a player for assignment for days in a row now and that feels like it has to be a record.
