Daryl

Thompson

Thompson made one relief appearance for the Reds in May, but spent most of the season at the Triple-A level. The 25-year-old right-hander was mostly organizational depth, so there was little reason to waste a 40-man roster spot on him.

Thompson made just one appearance in the majors this year for the Reds. He’ll try to win a spot in the Twins’ bullpen during spring trianing but faces an uphill battle.

Currently a free agent, Thompson split last season between independent ball and the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate. The 28-year-old made appearances in the majors with the Reds in 2008 and 2011. He’ll serve the suspension once he latches on with a team.

Micah Owings claimed the final spot in Cincinnati’s rotation, so Thompson will head to Triple-A and wait for a callup. He’s struggled with shoulder problems, but if healthy could be with the Reds to stay by midseason.

It was his first live action in over two weeks. Micah Owings seems to have locked up the fifth spot in the Reds’ starting rotation, so there’s no point in rushing Thompson. He’ll start the season at Triple-A and act as the club’s emergency sixth starter. We’d expect to see him back in the majors at some point this summer.

Thompson will make his major league debut today against the Yankees.

Another team that simply can’t make up its mind. Josh Fogg will almost surely go back into the rotation in place of Thompson.

Thompson went 0-2 with a 6.91 ERA while facing two of the game’s better offenses in his three major league starts. If that’s all the time the Reds were going to give him, then they never should have recalled him in the first place. Josh Fogg was ready to return before Thompson got the call. He’ll almost surely take over now.

Thompson had a shutout going until Grady Sizemore launched a solo homer in the fifth. He still finished that inning strong, but he retired none of the three batters he faced in the sixth. After he left, the two other pitchers acquired by the Reds in the Austin Kearns-Felipe Lopez deal -- Bill Bray and Gary Majewski -- combined to allow the two inherited runners to score.

Thompson struck out two. He wasn’t exactly perfect, but worked out of jams and the bullpen picked him up after 96 pitches. With the Reds’ schedule about to get easier, Thompson is worth a look in NL-only leagues.