Those prized Brandon Belt Jersey , prized roster spots." room on the roster for Nick Senzel, Derek Dietrich, and Jose IglesiasNew,33commentsThose prized, prized roster spots.ESTShareTweetShareShareFinding room on the roster for Nick Senzel, Derek Dietrich, and Jose IglesiasKareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY SportsWhen Derek Dietrich smoked a homer off prized lefty signing Yusei Kikuchi earlier this week in Cactus League action against the Seattle Mariners, it was a reminder that the Cincinnati Reds made a pretty savvy play to sign the versatile veteran. The 29 year old has averaged nearly 430 PA a season over the last four years, clobbered 46 homers in that time, and posted an impressive 114 OPS+ in that span. For reference, Sean Casey posted a 114 OPS+ across his entire 8 year career with the Reds. A similar story can be said for Jose Iglesias, the former Detroit Tigers All Star whose defensive ability is roughly as plus as Dietrich’s offense. And as evidence of just how busted MLB free agency is at this juncture, the Reds managed to sign both Dietrich and Iglesias to minor-league deals, though it’s becoming increasingly apparent that both should be obvious additions to the roster when the regular season rolls around, which means the currently full 40-man roster is going to need some culling.That’s before we even broach the subject of adding Nick Senzel to the roster for Opening Day, which would mean three spots on the 40-man would need to be cleared. So, let’s dive into some potential ways that might play out.One spot could well be opened for the very reasons why Iglesias and Dietrich deserve roster spots themselves - because the Reds need cover at backup SS and could use some defensive versatility. Those two traits pretty well describe why Alex Blandino held his roster spot for most of last season, but since the knee injury and subsequent surgery that cost him the last half of 2018 won’t have him ready for Opening Day (per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon), the Reds could choose to place him on the 60-day IL to begin the season. Considering the injury occurred in late July last year, that would push his earliest return to around the first of June, which is a timeline that more accurately fits the recovery time from ACL injuries seen more commonly in other sports. That’s one roster spot that appears to be the most obvious, since it won’t involve the Reds potentially losing a currently rostered player to another team. Finding two more, though http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , won’t be as easy.Perhaps next up on the pecking order are both Matt Wisler and Robert Stephenson, as both are out of options and currently on the fringe of making the active roster come opening day. Both are former top prospects who, at times, flash the kind of stuff that made them deserve those rankings in the first place, but multiple failures at the big league level have left them in roster limbo. Stephenson, too, has been dealing with a shoulder issue this spring that has kept him from making his Cactus League debut, which almost makes you wonder if it would be easier for him to clear through waivers since other teams might have issues about how healthy he is at the time. It’s a scenario similar to this time last year when the Reds managed to sneak Dilson Herrera through waivers and keep him around the organization while also opening a roster spot.Connor Joe also represents a potential opening, as the Rule 5 draftee has to stick on the active roster or be offered back to the Los Angeles Dodgers, his previous team. Joe provides a similar kind of positional versatility as Dietrich, albeit with significantly less experience there - less than other potential utility-man Kyle Farmer, too, who also has options remaining - and it’s an increasingly long shot that Joe will break camp still with the Reds. Beyond those scenarios, there aren’t any more obvious candidates for roster ‘finagling,’ but the Reds could just choose to cut bait with players who, despite still having options, just don’t fit the long-term plans of the team. Adding Iglesias would make Blake Trahan a tad redundant, for instance, as the latter is a glove and glove-only SS option akin to when the club had Zach Vincej around. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there have been some light rumblings that the Reds might try to find a taker for veteran OF Matt Kemp prior to the season given that he projects to have a tough path to regular playing time and can still sock some dingers, and trading him for any low-level prospect that doesn’t yet need a 40-man spot could clear multiple logjams. On the pitching side, there’s recent waiver-claim Matt Bowman, who has also been dealing with an injury this spring http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , or even reliever Jesus Reyes, who has now held a 40-man spot for multiple seasons despite rather pedestrian numbers in the upper-minors.The biggest question facing the Reds at the moment, obviously, is whether or not they choose to add Senzel to the active roster prior to Opening Day. He doesn’t yet need a 40-man spot should they choose to send him to AAA for a few weeks to effectively add a 7th year of team control, which would leave the Reds only in need of a pair of 40-man openings. Rolling the dice and adding him to the 25-man roster, though, would mean there’d need to be another 40-man casualty, and that will be a bit trickier.Of course, there will certainly be the inevitable surprise down the road. Someone important will get injured, because that always happens to every team. There could be a late-spring trade, or the Reds could well bring in a player from another organization that they’re high on as a buy-low target that falls victim to a roster purge akin to the scenarios detailed above - heck, think there aren’t at least a half-dozen teams out there that would scoop-up Wisler or Stephenson in a second based on their previous hype as prospects? Regardless, the Reds will have some roster juggling to do in the near future in order to squeeze the best players they currently have in camp into the best-case scenario dugout come Opening Day. The Dodgers may have lost Game 1, but the takeaway from the game is that they played one of their worst games in a while and still only lost by one run."Friday’s 6-5 loss in Game 1 was one of the sloppiest games the Dodgers have played in recent memory. Clayton Kershaw wasn’t particularly sharp and the defense — mainly his battery mate — didn’t do him any favors with four errors.The two and three hitters in the lineup were 0-for-8 with six strikeouts, including four from Justin Turner. It was the first time Turner had struck out four times in a game over his entire career, postseason or not.Cody Bellinger was hitless in four at-bats, despite making solid contact in multiple at-bats.But after everything went wrong early on, the Dodgers came roaring back in the later innings. The night came to an end with Chris Taylor 90 short feet away from a tie ballgame, with the Dodgers not only surviving against the Brewers nasty relief core, they were breaking through.“I thought we played an entire baseball game,” said manager Dave Roberts. “I did. For them to use Hader for three innings tonight and for us to get a good look at their arms in the pen, I thought we had good at-bats all the way till the end.” “So they were selling out, obviously Mark Melancon Jersey , with Josh going three innings tonight against us. But I thought our at-bats -- even when we weren’t scoring runs, I thought they were competitive.”The Brewers threw almost everything they had at the Dodgers and the game nearly got away from them in the end.After three innings and 46 pitches, Milwaukee’s biggest weapon in Josh Hader is unavailable until Game 3. Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell has rarely used his lefty in consecutive days, especially after a season-high pitch count.Counsell pointed out after the game that he believes his team is in good shape with the bullpen tomorrow, but that’s depending on how deep Wade Miley goes as a starter.Brandon Woodruff — besides his momentum-swinging homer — made 27 pitches over two innings of work. Cory Knebel was needed for 22 pitches after the Brewers wanted to keep him out until Saturday.In all, Milwaukee’s bullpen made 132 pitches, a stunning pace that may not be sustainable.“We know they’re good,” said Manny Machado, who homered and drove in three. “They’re a good ballclub. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. We know we’re as good as them, so we’ve just got to settle down, take it back, play baseball like we’ve played all year and grind it out.”Normally a team that remains patient and works plenty of walks, the Dodgers were issued just three free passes while they struck out 13 times. A feat they achieved in only 16 of their 163 games prior to the postseason.“I thought our at-bat quality throughout the night was good,” added Roberts. “I know we punched a lot tonight, but they’re running some good arms out there. But for us to get a look at these guys out of the pen in a seven-game series, I think that’s a good thing. “And for our guys to -- for us to have the tying run at third base, we did some good things tonight. So yeah, the goal is to win a baseball game, but I think that it shows the compete in our guys.”Game 2 gets underway Saturday at 1:09 p.m. PT as the Dodgers look to equal the series before heading home.