Bats announce 2016 preliminary roster
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville Bats have released their 2016 preliminary roster in advance of Thursday's Opening Day game versus the Toledo Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio at 4:05 p.m. The roster includes five players on the current Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster and 13 players who played for the Bats in 2015. The 2016 season will be the Bats' 17th season as the top affiliate of the Reds. The roster, currently at 29 players, will have 25 on Opening Day.
Projected starter Josh Smith returns to Louisville for his third season after making his MLB debut with the Reds in 2015. Smith appeared in 15 games, starting 12, finishing with a 3-5 record and 3.75 ERA in Cincinnati. He will be joined in the rotation by the second-best pitching prospect, left-hander Cody Reed (No. 3 overall). Reed, after coming over from the Royals in the Johnny Cueto trade went 6-2 in eight starts with Pensacola, striking out 60 in 49 and two-thirds innings. Presumably rounding out the starting five will be Tim Adleman, Tim Melville and Daniel Wright. Adelman finished with a 2.64 ERA, fourth-best among Reds organization pitchers, in 27 games, 26 starts at Double-A Pensacola. Melville comes to the Bats from IL West division rival Toledo, where he spent all of 2015. He tied for the International League lead with 27 starts, going 7-10, 4.63 ERA in a career-high 151 and two-thirds innings. Wright made 27 starts for Pensacola last season and finished 10-11 with a 4.53 ERA. Wright's 130 strikeouts were in the top ten in the Reds organization.
Featured in the Bats' bullpen is Ryan Mattheus. In his first season with the Reds in 2015 he pitched in 57 games with a 4.09 ERA. He was one of five Reds in 2015 to appear in 55 games or more. Pedro Villarreal will join him on the Bats' roster. He made his fourth stint with the Reds in 2015, appearing in 29 games, a career high. He has appeared in 114 games for Louisville since making his Triple-A debut in 2012.
Returning to the bullpen are Drew Hayes and Layne Somsen, both having made their Triple-A debuts in 2015. Hayes appeared in 43 games, saving three, in 58 innings. Somsen pitched in 15 games, started three, going 0-1. He spent time on the disabled list from June 14-August 4 with a fractured right fifth toe.
Rounding out the bullpen will be Steve Delabar, Dayan Diaz, Stephen Johnson, A.J. Morris, JC Ramirez and Chad Rogers. Delabar, the Elizabethtown native (Central Hardin High School), signed a minor league contract with the Reds on April 2. He spent time with the IL's Buffalo Bisons and the American League Toronto Blue Jays during the 2015 season. He finished 3-1, 1.42 for the Bisons in 24 games, recording one save. Diaz was a minor league signing on November 25, 2015 and was in the running for a final bullpen spot with Cincinnati. In 37 combined relief appearances between Portland and Pawtucket in the Red Sox system, finished 2-1, 1.73 with six saves in seven chances. Johnson, who came over to the Reds in the trade for Marlon Byrd, could make his Triple-A debut this season. Morris signed a minor league contract on December 23, 2015 with an invite to spring training. He spent all of 2015 and a part of 2014 with the IL's Indianapolis Indians. Peralta could also make his Triple-A debut this season after spending 2015 in Pensacola. Ramirez spent time with two different big league clubs in 2015. After starting with the Diamondbacks, he was traded to Seattle on July 26, 2015. On November 25, 2015 he signed a minor league contract with the Reds with an invite to spring training. Chad Rogers will round out the bullpen. In 2015 he was limited to 10 appearances with Double-A Pensacola. In 2014 spent the entire season with Louisville appearing in 35 games, going 2-0 with a 4.08 ERA.
Behind the plate dropping the signals again in 2016 is Ramon Cabrera. The 2015 Mary E. Barney Most Valuable Player spent most of the season at Louisville. He made his Major League debut with the Reds in the second game of a double-header on September 5 vs. Milwaukee. He hit his first career home run off John Lackey in a 4-2 win on September 11 vs. St. Louis. Chris Berset will join him as the second catcher. Berset made his Triple-A debut in 2014 appearing in one game. In 2015 he played in 45 games, hitting .218. Between Pensacola and Louisville played in 59 games, matching his career high set in both 2013 and 2014.
Jermaine Curtis (3B/2B), Hernan Iribarren (2B/3B) and Juan Perez (SS) all return to the infield for the Bats in 2016. Curtis, in his first season with Louisville hit .273 and was one of four players to spend the entire 2015 season on the Louisville roster. Iribarren will be in his third straight season with Louisville. In 111 games in 2015, he hit .256, recording 104 hits joining Irving Falu as the only two to record 100 or more. Perez made his Triple-A debut with the Bats in 2015 on August 4. He went on to hit two of his three homers with Louisville, in back-to-back games versus Indianapolis on August 25 and 26. Those three will be joined by Brandon Allen (1B), Seth Mejias-Brean (3B), Jose Peraza (SS/2B), and Carlos Triunfel (SS/2B). Allen will be with his sixth different organization in five years. He spent the 2015 season with Las Vegas and hit 29 doubles, his most in a season since 2007. Mejias-Brean was an eighth-round draft pick by the Reds in 2012. He hit .247 with Pensacola in 2015 recording 100 hits for the second time in his minor league career. Peraza, the Reds' 5th best prospect according to MLB.com comes to the organization from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was traded twice in 2015. After starting the season with the Braves, he was traded to LA on July 30. Made his Major League debut with the Dodgers and appeared in seven games, hitting .182. Between the IL's Gwinnett Braves and the PCL's Oklahoma City Dodgers, he recorded 141 hits in 481 at bats. Triunfel made his Major League debut in 2012 with Seattle and has been in the big leagues in three of the last four years, lastly with the Dodgers in 2014. He spent 2015 with Sacramento, hitting .264. Weems signed a minor league contract December 27, 2015. He split time between Frisco and Round Rock in '15 hitting .231.
Jesse Winker and Kyle Waldrop highlight the outfield. Winker, the Reds' top overall prospect, will make his Triple-A debut in 2016. He was named the organization's 2015 Minor League Hitter of the Year after hitting .282 with 125 hits and 24 doubles at Double-A Pensacola, both career highs. Waldrop will begin his second season with Louisville after appearing in 55 games for the Bats last season. He made his Major League debut on August 2 as a pinch hitter versus Pittsburgh.
Steve Selsky and Bryson Smith, who each spent time with Louisville last season join Winker and Waldrop in the outfield. Selsky hit .317 in 51 games for Louisville. On June 23 he was placed on the DL with a left meniscus injury and did not return. Smith, in his Triple-A debut season, hit .260 in 26 appearances and was on the Louisville DL a pair of times.
Delino DeShields is set to begin his second season with the Bats. He spent 13 years in the big leagues and has an overall managerial record of 364-411. DeShields will be joined by pitching coach Ted Power and new hitting coach Jody Davis. Power enters his 11th season as Bats pitching coach. Davis enters his first season in the Reds organization after spending the last two seasons in the San Diego Padres system.
The 2016 season will be both the Bats' 17th season at Louisville Slugger Field and their 17th season as the top affiliate of the Reds. The entire 2016 Bats schedule and promotions can be found at batsbaseball.com. Full and partial season tickets, along with group outings and suite rentals are available by calling the Bats front office at 502-212-2287.
The Bats have averaged 8,827 fans per game at Louisville Slugger Field since its opening in 2000 and have totaled over 9.9 million fans through 16 seasons. Tickets for all regular season games are available. The entire 2016 Bats schedule, including updated promotions and special events, can be found at batsbaseball.com. Single-game tickets may be purchased online, by calling 1-855-228-8497 or by visiting the Louisville Slugger Field box office. Full and partial season tickets, along with group outings and suite rentals are available by calling the Bats front office at 502-212-2287.