The relative youth of the Cincinnati Reds’ roster means the team has spent the winter running numbers and making offers ahead of the arbitration deadline.
For the most part, the conversations with the players were successful. Only catcher Tyler Stephenson and reliever Graham Ashcraft failed to come to terms. The fact that Stephenson and Ashcraft are heading for arbitration hearings is a minor annoyance compared to what the Reds will face next season.
Stephenson and Ashcraft are haggling over $250,000 and $500,000, respectively. Those figures are drops in the bucket of a club’s budget.