The Cincinnati Reds made it official this afternoon, announcing the signing of infielder Eugenio Suarez. While we learned that the two sides had a deal in place for a 1-year, $15,000,000 contract with a mutual option for 2027 on Sunday, we didn’t know what the other side of that move would be. The 40-man roster was full, so in order to bring Suarez in, someone had to be removed and it turns out that it was catcher Ben Rortvedt. Cincinnati designated the catcher for assignment to clear a spot for Suarez.
Ben Rortvedt joined the Reds in mid-November. He had been designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati put in a claim for him. The 28-year-old catcher has no options remaining, which made the likelihood of him not being put on waivers at the end of spring training low given that the Reds have both Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino ahead of him and under contract. An injury, of course, could have opened up a spot for him and catchers certainly carry more risk of injury than any other position player given the amount of foul balls they tend to take off of their body.
He felt like injury insurance. And now he may not be. He has been designated for assignment more than a few times in his career, but he’s also cleared waivers before and outrighted. That means that if he clears waivers this time around that he can refuse the outright to the minor leagues if he wants to and could instead become a free agent. While some players do indeed go that route at times, it is rare during the season. It’s something that would almost never happen in the offseason as players can shop around to see who may need their services and get themselves in a better spot for their future. Of course that doesn’t mean he couldn’t return to the Reds on a new deal if he would clear waivers and become a free agent.