Teams across Major League Baseball had until 4pm ET to add eligible minor league players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The Cincinnati Reds began the day with 38 men on the 40-man roster, leaving them with two spots to use if they chose. And they did. They also used a third spot after clearing it. The team has added shortstops Edwin Arroyo and Leo Balcazar, as well as outfielder Hector Rodriguez to the 40-man roster and at least for the time being, the roster is full. That will likely change soon as the non-tender date is in three days and it’s probable that Cincinnati will have a few guys they don’t tender 2026 contracts to.
Edwin Arroyo (pictured above), the Reds #6 prospect was a 2nd round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners back n 2021. The Puerto Rican native was traded just over a year later. Arroyo was a part of the deal with Seattle that saw Luis Castillo go to the Mariners in July of 2022. He underwent shoulder surgery in 2024 after injuring himself diving back to first base in spring training. The injury would cost him the entire regular season, though he did return in time to play 18 games in the Arizona Fall League following the year.
In 2025 Arroyo spent the entire season in Double-A Chattanooga. He played almost the full year as a 21-year-old. The infielder hit for a high average, with his .284 average ranking 6th in the league among players who had at least 225 plate appearances. He walked 40 times and had 88 strikeouts in 521 plate appearances, showing a good contact rate. Where he struggled at the plate was in the power department. He hit just three home runs and slugged just .371 on the season. That’s not terribly surprising given that he was coming off of shoulder surgery. But it is an area where he’s going to have to recover some if he’s going to become an every day caliber player in the big leagues.
Defensively is what Arroyo is more known for. Not that his bat has projection issues, just that his defense is expected to be good at a premium position on the field. He’s got good range, a good arm, and good hands. But he also had a .954 fielding percentage this season. And I want to be sure to note that is lower than that of the guy half of the fanbase wants to move off of the position for Arroyo/anyone else.
You can see the career stats for Edwin Arroyo here.
Outfielder Hector Rodriguez, the Reds #8 ranked prospect is now on the 40-man roster. The 21-year-old split his season between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville in 2025. During the year he set a career high with 19 home runs, 65 RBI, 92 runs scored, 149 hits, and 40 walks. He did that while also hitting .283/.336/.450 on the season. The left fielder also had 23 doubles and 15 steals on the season.
Rodriguez has some potential to hit for both a high average and a solid amount of power. The left-handed hitter is only 5′ 10″ tall, but don’t be fooled by his height. He’s got a quick bat and he can hit the ball quite hard. While he’s played some center in the past with the Reds and even this past month in winter ball, he’s more of a left fielder than anything and if he’s going to be an every day player that’s where you’re going to see him.
You can see the career stats for Hector Rodriguez here.
Cincinnati’s third addition was Leo Balcazar. The Venezuelan native is the team’s #12 ranked prospect and he split his 2025 regular season between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga. He struggled in 2024 after returning from ACL surgery, but picked things up in the final month. That carried over into 2025 where he drastically cut down on his strikeout rate. Between the two levels he hit .263/.339/.381 with a career high 12 home runs, he drew 52 walks, and struck out just 75 times in 560 plate appearances.
Balcazar won’t turn 22 until the middle of June next season. Despite missing nearly all of 2023 (he tore his ACL on the last day of April), he’s progressed quickly up the ladder of the farm system. After the regular season in 2025 the Reds sent him to the Arizona Fall League where he played in 24 games for Peoria and showed off impressive exit velocities as he closed out his season. While he did play mostly second base after arriving in Chattanooga so that he and Arroyo could both be on the field at the same time, Balcazar is capable of playing shortstop at the big league level while also having some experience at second base throughout his career. While in Arizona this fall he also played in 11 games at third base.
You can see the career starts for Leo Balcazar here.
Cincinnati needed to create one spot on the 40-man roster in order to add one of the minor leaguers. To do that they designated right-handed pitcher Carson Spiers for assignment. He missed much of the year with a right shoulder impingement and then elbow surgery.
The Reds will have several players that other teams may now consider selecting in the Rule 5 draft. We covered those guys yesterday in our write up, though none of them feel like more of a coin flip and most have far lower odds than that. You can read about those players here.
