The Cincinnati Reds made another wave of cuts from spring camp on Monday morning, and in doing so got the number of players still in camp down to 42.
Both infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand and right-hander Chase Petty were optioned to AAA Louisville, while catcher Michael Trautwein – in camp as a non-roster invitee – was reassigned to minor league camp. The Reds announced the moves on Twitter.
Both CES and Petty have gotten their feet wet at the big league level, and at times both have risen to be perhaps the top prospects in the entire organization at what they do. That said, each’s production (or lack thereof) during the 2025 season slid precipitously, and both have clearly been passed on the organizational pecking order for the time being.
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CES swatted 6 homers at the big league level in 2025 but posted just a .208/.234/.377 line in 137 PA, and he was optioned back to AAA in July. While he turned it around to an extent while with AAA Louisville, he didn’t play at the big league level after July 8th. The Reds subsequently acquired 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh and watched as Sal Stewart emerged as one of the game’s top prospect and then signed old friend Eugenio Suárez in free agency, pushing CES out of a job at the big league level for the time being, at least.
As for Petty, his initial foray into big league baseball could not have gone much worse. He was shelled for 14 runs (13 earned) in just 6.0 IP across a trio of appearances with the Reds, and after being optioned back to AAA Louisville in late June his season continued to spiral. His final two appearances of the season saw him fire just 4.1 IP and allow 14 ER, and on the whole he posted an ugly 6.39 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 112.2 IP at the AAA level in 2025. Still just 22 years old, though, Petty is very much still viewed as a player with big league stuff (when he can harness it), but he’s clearly fallen behind Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson for the time being.
