Photo: Doug Gray
Baseball season never truly ends. By the time the World Series is over there has been winter league baseball going on for nearly a month. And that winter league baseball continues through the Caribbean Series, which ended on Saturday night with Mexico picking up the win. Now two days later we’ve got pitchers, catchers, and World Baseball Classic participants showing up for spring training.
The Cincinnati Reds should have a bunch of players showing up in Goodyear on Monday afternoon. Between the pitchers and catchers who are invited to big league camp as well as the additional six players who will be playing in the World Baseball Classic, 41 players should be at the Reds complex tomorrow. Four of those 41 players, though, are not technically in big league spring training and are Reds minor league players who will be representing their country in the WBC. Infielders Eugenio Suarez (Venezuela) and Edwin Arroyo (Puerto Rico) are the only two players from the 40-man roster who will be playing in the WBC. Minor leaguers Ivan Johnson (Great Britain), Alexander Vargas (Cuba), David Lorduy (Colombia) and Ryjeteri Merite (Netherlands) will all be playing in March in the WBC.
While guys may get on the field before then, the first on-field workout is officially scheduled for Wednesday. On Tuesday the players are all scheduled for their physicals with the medical staff. Position players are scheduled to arrive to Goodyear on Saturday the 14th. A week later the first game will be played as the Reds will take on their spring training complex mates the Cleveland Guardians.
The spring training schedule is quite packed. They have an off day on February 23rd and March 3rd. The next time the Reds don’t have a game after that is the 19th, and some guys won’t even get that day off as the Spring Breakout is scheduled that day. That’s an event where each team puts together a roster of their prospects to play in a game against another organization’s prospect team. After that the only day off is the 25th, which is a travel day to Cincinnati so the team can be ready for Opening Day against the Boston Red Sox on the 26th. The final two days of spring training will actually take place in Milwaukee as they take on the Brewers on the 23rd and 24th at American Family Field.