Welcome to the month of September!
Major League Baseball allows active roster limits to expand from 26 to 28 when the calendar flips to September, and today the Cincinnati Reds responded accordingly.
With the ability to now carry 14 pitchers and 14 position players, the Reds opted to make official the return of lefty Brandon Williamson from the 60-day IL after news broke yesterday that he would start for them on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres and piggyback with Chase Burns as the latter has his
innings reduced for the remainder of the season. On the position player side, the versatile Juan Brito – picked up from manager Terry Francona’s former Cleveland club at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Nathaniel Lowe the other way – was recalled from AAA Louisville.
Williamson is the more known of the two, obviously, even though elbow and shoulder injuries have effectively made him invisible at the big league level since the end of 2023.
Brito, though, is more the wild card here. Back in 2024 he emerged as something of a verifiable prospect within the Guardians organization, socking 21 homers for AA Columbus while posting an .807 OPS after coming over from Colorado in the deal that sent the once sought-after Nolan Jones the other way. Once given a 60 grade hit tool by the MLB Pipeline crew, he struggled mightily in his first taste of the big leagues earlier in 2026 and has hit just .232/.300/.341 in 90 PA with AAA Louisville since joining the Reds system.
Brito’s ability to play all over the infield is likely the kicker for why he was recalled. With Ke’Bryan Hayes on the IL and Elly De La Cruz dealing with a quad strain that’s limiting him to DH duties for the time being, Cincinnati’s infield depth is already being tested.
