The Reds announced a series of rosters this morning, most notably including the right-handed Brian Shaw. Shaw, 37, signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati back in December, but even non-established veterans (such as Shaw) are not eligible for XX(B) free agents who have gained a unified choice in the unified opportunity signed by the league, but their contractual habits are an exit opportunity built into their contracts.
Given this reality, this is typical for a veteran who has been reassigned to a minor league camp to explore alternatives to free agents rather than reporting to minors and sticking with their existing clubs. However, this is not Shaw’s path, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon wrote that Shaw decided to stay in the Reds and report to Triple-A Louisville at the beginning of the season. Manager Terry Francona conveyed the news to reporters, and Shaw was involved in the game in seven seasons in Cleveland.
“He wants to stay.” Frankona said, as Sheldon developed. “This guy has been throwing for 16 years. I’ve seen him have springs like this and then he went out to play 81 games and was facing the middle of the order. That’s not where he was this spring, he wasn’t in line with the strike zone. His stuff is still good. We’re so glad he wanted to go to Triple-A. He can still do it.”
Shaw, 37, was a second-rounder for the Diamondbacks in 2008, making his major league debut in the 2011 season. Since then, the veteran reliefist has released 3.96 ERA (109 ERA+) throughout his career, serving 4.05 FIP, which has left him throwing 764 1/3 innings in 14 MLB seasons. He has been working on ineffective over the past three seasons, but, in 108 frames, there is a 4.54 frame rate with the Guardians and the White Sox hitting 4.54. The decline in performance has caused Xiao’s chances at the major league level to start to dry up a bit. Last year, he played in just five major league games with the White Sox and then spent the rest of 2025 in Triple-A Salt Lake’s Angels organization, even in the tough offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, he issued a 4.14 ERA for him.
After a bland spring, he posted a solid enough 4.05 ERA on seven appearances, but hitter (7) hitter (9), Shaw started Triple-A at least this season. However, the fact that the veteran sticks with minors is welcome news due to the club’s relatively lack of a 40-man roster. And some arms use it as the rotation depth Carson Spiers and Lyon Richardson In theory, it can be used with a cowshed, right-handed Yosver Zulueta It is the only full-time rescuer in the club’s 40-man lineup, and the club’s opening day bullpen is not yet expected. Given the frequency of injuries encountered in 162 seasons, it should leave enough room for players who are not yet in the 40-man roster (such as Shaw) (such as Shaw) to defend themselves in Triple-A and to throw themselves into major league clubs in the upcoming game.
