Reds Option Top Prospects Edwin Arroyo, Julian Aguiar to Triple-A Louisville

The Cincinnati Reds optioned shortstop Edwin Arroyo and right‑handed pitcher Julian Aguiar to Triple‑A Louisville as part of additional spring training roster moves reported March 6, 2026. Aguiar’s reassignment removes him from a four‑player competition for the club’s fifth starter at the outset of the season.

Aguiar had been viewed as a starting‑rotation candidate in the spring; he worked through a four‑player race for the fifth spot before being sent to Triple‑A Louisville. Other rotation contenders named in camp include Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson, and the optioning of Aguiar—along with an unnamed player referenced only as Franco in reporting—means both are no longer in the immediate Opening Day rotation picture.

Edwin Arroyo, listed as one of the organization’s top prospects, was optioned while already away with Team Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic. Arroyo is ranked sixth on one prospect list and posted a 1‑5 line with a run scored across three spring games; commentary in camp placed him behind Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain in the middle‑infield mix, and Reds prospect coverage suggested he is probably not playing for an Opening Day roster spot.

Earlier moves the same day sent a set of non‑roster invitees to minor league camp, including outfielder/infielder Cam Collier, catcher Connor Burns, infielders Michael Chavis and Michael Toglia, and pitchers Carson Spiers and Joel Valdez. Collier, listed as a top‑10 prospect, went 1‑7 with an RBI in five spring games; Burns was 0‑2 in three games; Chavis went 3‑11 with a home run in seven games and 11 plate appearances; Toglia played eight games with two hits, two walks and one RBI. Spiers and Valdez were noted as injured and had not yet pitched in games.

Several players remained in big league camp after the cuts, including Christian Encarnacion‑Strand, Rece Hinds, Tejay Antone and Blake Dunn, along with non‑roster veterans Nate Lowe and Garrett Hampson; those players were left to continue competing for roster spots as the club moved toward trimmed spring rosters. One report said the early wave of reassignments left 51 players in major league camp as the team prepared to face the Chicago Cubs that afternoon.

The broader prospect picture in camp featured Sal Stewart at #2 on a prospect list, going 2‑5 with two walks and a 440‑foot home run in spring play; Rhett Lowder at #3; Chase Petty at #5, who had not yet pitched in camp but was scheduled to throw later the same day; Hector Rodriguez at #8, who hit .301/.375/.504 across 31 winter‑league games and was described as still just 21 and buried on the depth chart behind JJ Bleday and Will Benson.

With Arroyo and Aguiar assigned to Triple‑A Louisville, both prospects will shift to minor‑league workloads while the Reds continue to sort their infield pecking order and finalize rotation options amid ongoing questions about the health of ace Hunter Greene’s right elbow.