The Reds announced a series of roster cuts this morning, most notably including right-hander Bryan Shaw. Shaw, 37, signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati back in December, but it is customary for non-roster veterans to have opt-out opportunities built into their contracts even if they (like Shaw) don’t qualify as Article XX(B) free agents who receive uniform opt-out opportunities as mandated by the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Given this reality, it’s typical for a veteran who is reassigned to minor league camp to explore alternate options in free agency rather than report to the minors and stick with their current club. That’s not the path Shaw is taking, however, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes that Shaw has decided to stay with the Reds organization and report to Triple-A Louisville when the season begins. That news was relayed to reporters by manager Terry Francona, for whom Shaw pitched in seven seasons with Cleveland.
“He wants to stay,” Francona said, as relayed by Sheldon. “The guy has pitched 16 years. I’ve seen him have springs like this and then he goes out and throws in 81 games and faces the middle of the order all the time. That just wasn’t the position he was in this spring and he’s inconsistent with the strike zone. His stuff is still fine. And we were thrilled he wants to go to Triple-A. He can still do it.”
Shaw, 37, was a second-rounder by the Diamondbacks back in 2008 who made his big league debut during the 2011 season. Since then, the veteran reliever has posted a 3.96 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 4.05 FIP throughout his career, which has seen him throw 764 1/3 innings of work across 14 MLB seasons. He’s struggled with ineffectiveness over the past three seasons, however, pitching to a lackluster 5.00 ERA with a 4.54 FIP across 108 frames with the Guardians and White Sox. That decline in performance has seen Shaw’s opportunities at the big league level begin to dry up somewhat; he pitched in just five big league games for the White Sox last year before spending the rest of 2025 in the Angels organization at Triple-A Salt Lake, for whom he posted a solid 4.14 ERA even in the tough offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.
After a lackluster spring where he posted a solid enough 4.05 ERA in seven appearances but walked (9) more batters than he struck out (7), Shaw is once again ticketed for Triple-A at least to begin the season. The fact that the veteran is sticking around in the minors is welcome news for the Reds, however, given the club’s relative lack of relief depth on the 40-man roster. While some arms set to serve as rotation depth like Carson Spiers and Lyon Richardson could theoretically be used out of the bullpen, right-hander Yosver Zulueta is the only full-time reliever on the club’s 40-man roster not already projected to make the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Given the frequency with which injuries pop up across a 162-game season, that should leave plenty of room for even players not yet on the 40-man roster such as Shaw to make a case for themselves at Triple-A and pitch their way onto the big league club over the course of the coming campaign.
Francona and his vets. If he has his way, he’ll keep him around until he is 50.
I will wait and see I think your statement applies to the Bell family moose,Newman,letting lorenzen pinch run
Hard to blame him. Shaw’s had some big moments for Francona.
35 Ip w/ 4.77era is my Bryan Shaw prediction. He was traded because FO and player wives didn’t get along with his wife… Back in the day, does this still ring true 12 yrs later?
True with borderline guys. They will put up with more from the stars.
No surprise. He had a rough spring but good for depth just in case. At least there is some now, probably thanks to Tito.
Can he catch ? Maybe they should call you into camp TOBTTR ??
Shaw stayed because of Tito. That’s going to be a common story for the Reds this year. Tito was the best offseason move for your Reds.
I am old enough to remember Terry Francona’s father, Tito Francona, as a player. It has always struck me as kind of precious when people call Terry Tito, even though his name is Terry. Kind of overly cute. I suppose it’s just me. But for what it’s worth, when HE was a player, Terry was called Terry.
Apparently Terry was called Little Tito when he went to the ballpark with his father and shortened to just Tito to those who knew him back then when he got older and it stuck.
His ineffectiveness has been more than just the past 3 seasons. He was a waste of money for the Rockies in 2018 & 2019. Hasn’t really been a reliable option since that first stretch with Cleveland.
This is a guy who will be needed at some point and provide solid innings of work.
Just don’t see the downside of this item. Shaw has had a succwssful ML career spanning north of a decade and a half He’s earned more than $42MM & counting. Now it seems he wants to have something to say about who he works for. It appears baseball fans are best at finding the dark lining of every silver cloud.
I have to ask…
Is Mr Shaw related to Mr Scherzer?