Reds Beat: Bullpen, Outfield Get Deeper With Taylor Rogers, Austin Hays As Reds Start To Finalize For Goodyear

CINCINNATI — In search of another piece to deepen the late-inning options in the bullpen, the Reds pulled the trigger on a trade Wednesday with the San Francisco Giants.

Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall Wednesday night confirmed the acquisition of left-hander Taylor Rogers and cash considerations from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor league RHP Braxton Roxby.

The 34-year-old will earn $12 million this season in the final year of a three-year, $33 million contract signed before the 2023 season with San Francisco.

“He pitched really well in the pen over the last several years,” Krall said. “Over the last three years, he’s got a .190 batting average against lefties also got righties out. I’m really excited to add him veteran leadership, that just takes the ball and can go get out with the rest of that group.”

What Rogers really gives the Reds is an experienced arm who knows who to handle late-game, high leverage situations, a must for any pitcher that wants to pitch for Terry Francona. Rogers has appeared in the playoffs three times, all with the Twins in 2017, 2019 and 2020, pitching in four games without a decision.

“It starts with Tito. He’s managed World Series champions before and he’s gone to another World Series, gone to multiple playoffs. He knows what it’s like to bring that to the field every day. You know, Jose Travino, I spent time on a caravan with him last week and it’s just great to hear him talking about it, and what that process is and how important that clubhouse (chemistry) is, how important that daily work is in the quality of that work. We have a lot of younger players that have not been to the playoffs and to just bring some playoff experience is a really good thing.”

Krall did not confirm the Ken Rosenthal report that the Reds also signed outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year, $5 million deal to had some right-handed pop to the Reds outfield.

Hays had five homers and slashed at .255/.303/.396 in 20 games for the Phillies last season after a mid-season trade with Baltimore, where he spent his first six seasons.

The Reds have now added the following players to their roster for 2025:

INF Gavin Lux

LHP Taylor Rogers

OF Austin Hays

C Jose Trevino

INF Cooper Bowman

RHP Brady Singer

As for the bullpen, the Reds now have three projected lefties (Rogers, Brent Suter and Sam Moll) in the bullpen, something they relied on last season after going with just one southpaw reliever for most of 2023.

The Reds are hoping Rogers can rediscover his form from 2017-2021 when he was an American League All-Star with Minnesota in ’21. Last season, he pitched to a 1-4 record with a career-best 2.40 ERA (60 innings) and 64 strikeouts across 64 appearances for the San Francisco Giants.

Rogers in 2019 was recognized as Minnesota’s Joseph W. Haynes Pitcher of the Year by the local chapter of the BBWAA. That year, he became just the fourth Twins left-handed pitcher to record at least 30 saves in a season and posted the lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.18) by a reliever in franchise history.

Rogers, an 11th-round pick of the Twins in the 2012 first-year player draft out of the University of Kentucky, has pitched in parts of 9 Major League seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2016-21), San Diego Padres (2022), Milwaukee Brewers (2022), and San Francisco Giants (2023-24). He ranks among all active left-handed relievers in saves (83, 4th), strikeouts (573, 5th), appearances (509, 6th), and wins (28, T6th).

Rogers was teammates with his twin brother, Tyler, for the last 2 seasons in San Francisco, making them the fourth set of twins to play on the same team in MLB history.

Roxby, 26, went 0-4 with a 5.21 ERA (48.1ip, 34r/28er) across 39 appearances for AA-Chattanooga last season. Originally signed by the Reds as a non-drafted free agent on June 15, 2020, Roxby pitched in 130 games across parts of 4 seasons in their system.

In a corresponding move, the Reds have designated for assignment RHP Owen White, who was acquired from the Rangers on January 6. Cincinnati’s 40-player roster is at capacity.