Bubba Thompson claimed by Yankees, Austin Wynns outrighted to AAA Louisville

As the transaction world turns...

Major League Baseball teams spin themselves in circles making transactions at the fringes of their 40-man rosters each and every winter. In a constant quest to make sure they both maximize their depth at the AAA level and still maintain overall roster flexibility, players who have worked their way through the minors and burned through their option years find themselves in the unenviable role of ‘Plan B’ for most every team in the game.

They’re great to have around until a team can find someone just the slightest bit better, in essence.

That’s how Bubba Thompson came to be a part of the Cincinnati Reds organization in the first place, the former 1st round pick of the Texas Rangers having been claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals in October after the Royals themselves had claimed Thompson off waivers from Texas. But as the Reds began looking for ways to add their free agent signings to their roster - first with Buck Farmer’s return, and later with the signing of Frankie Montas - Thompson (and catcher Austin Wynns) saw their roster spots get handed out elsewhere.

Both were designated for assignment to make way for those respective additions, and their fates were announced today by the Reds. Thompson was claimed by the New York Yankees, while Wynns cleared waivers and was sent outright to AAA Louisville.

Thompson has options left, making him a bit more valuable on the waiver wire as a fringe roster addition - that means whoever claims him can park him in the minors again as they so choose. Wynns, though, is out of options, meaning he’s got to be on the active roster for any club who claimed him or be passed through the waiver process for any future demotion.

And, as the tweet noted, the Reds officially received cash from the San Francisco Giants to complete the TJ Hopkins transaction - Hopkins himself was designated for assignment back in December to make way for the intial signing of Wynns, believe it or not.

It’s a crazy administrative world, that 40-man roster. Thus ends the latest update on how the Cincinnati Reds have been managing theirs.