The Reds’ week of roster turnover didn’t stop with the big-league free agents.
After Tyler Stephenson, Emilio Pagan, Eugenio Suarez, Pierce Johnson, and Brady Singer all reached free agency at the major-league level, Cincinnati also lost 21 players to minor league free agency. Unlike the big-league group, these were players the Reds could have kept if they wanted to.
All it would have taken was a spot on the 40-man roster. Instead, the organization let the entire group walk.
The list includes a mix of players with MLB time and others who never got there. The biggest name among the non-big-league crowd is probably Austin Hendrick, the Reds’ 2020 first-round pick.
Here’s the full group that became free agents, according to Baseball America’s reporting early Wednesday morning:
C Pablo Aliendo (AA)
SS Orlando Arcia (AAA)
SS Julio Carreras (AA)
3B Michael Chavis (AAA)
RHP Cam Cotter (AAA)
LHP Jacob Edwards (A+)
OF Dominic Fletcher (AAA)
RHP Taylor Floyd (AA)
RHP Ryan Garcia (AA)
SS Garrett Hampson (AAA)
OF Austin Hendrick (AA)
2B Ivan Johnson (AAA)
RHP Trevor Kuncl (AAA)
RHP Johnathan Lavallee (AA)
RHP Nestor Lorant (AA)
LHP Anthony Misiewicz (AAA)
LHP Steffon Moore (AA)
OF Shane Sasaki (AA)
SS Francisco Urbaez (AAA)
RHP Darius Vines (AAA)
LHP Ben Wereski (AAA)
Hendrick’s name stands out for more than draft pedigree. He was the first position player taken by the Reds with their first pick to not reach the majors since 2000, when the club selected David Espinosa.
The pitchers in that stretch - Chris Gruler in 2002, Nick Travieso in 2012, and Nick Howard in 2014 - all had their careers derailed by injuries and never made it to MLB. That run continues through 2021, with Cam Collier the 2022 pick and still only 21 years old.
A couple of the pitchers on the list had their own recent honors. Trevor Kuncl was the RedsMinorLeagues.com MiLB Reliever of the Year in 2025, but he was injured and missed all of 2026. Nestor Lorant won RedsMinorLeagues.com MiLB Pitcher of the Year in 2024, then struggled in 2025 before bouncing back in 2026, only to lose much of the second half to injury.
Only one player from the group appeared in the majors in 2026. Ivan Johnson got into 16 games with the Reds this season. Garrett Hampson had a short stint with Cincinnati in 2025, while Michael Chavis and Anthony Misiewicz reached the big leagues earlier with other organizations.
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