Cincinnati Reds Players Who Must Be Let Go This Offseason

Though the bulk of the Cincinnati Reds roster is under contract for the 2015 season, the team has a number of players who should be considered expendable this offseason. Most such players are role players, but others have played or are currently playing intricate roles on the team.

In order to improve the roster, there are three specific players the team should look to release or move this offseason.

The first two moves I'll suggest are likely to be met with much agreement and should generally be considered as no-brainers. However, the third move is likely to be a much less popular avenue but still merits consideration if the team hopes to put themselves over the hump and return to contender status in 2015.

Al Behrman/Associated Press

Ryan Ludwick

Ryan Ludwick is the only everyday player to make it on this list, and his spot is well-deserved.

Since a stellar 2012 campaign in which he hit .275 with a .346 OBP and 26 home runs, the 36-year-old has been nearly unusable in left field. Between the 2013 and '14 seasons—137 games played—Ludwick has averaged just a .245/.303/.366 slash line with season averages of five home runs, 12 doubles, 26 RBI and 16 runs scored.

Ludwick's 362 plate appearances aren't enough to rank among the National League's qualified left fielders, but if you bring the plate-appearance minimum down to 350, Ludwick's incompetence at the plate begins to show through.

Fourteen players appear on the list, and Ludwick ranks near the bottom of the pack in every measurable statistic.

Splits	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	R	SB
Ranking	12th	12th	11th	t-11th	12th	14th	t-13th

In addition to his poor offensive performance, Ludwick has been a major liability in the field, posting UZR/150 values of minus-23.5 and minus-11.4, respectively.

Ludwick is on the wrong side of 35, and with a whopping $9 million mutual option for the 2015 season—compared to a $4.5 million buyout for said option—Ludwick is almost certainly gone.

Jack Hannahan

Another player with a buyout attached to his 2015 team option—this time the buyout is just $2 million compared to Ludwick's $4.5 million—Jack Hannahan is the second Reds player who needs to be let go this offseason.

Unlike Ludwick, who succeeded almost instantaneously with the Reds, Hannahan struggled, posting a .216/.317/.288 batting line with just seven extra-base hits and 14 RBI in his first season with the club. Being that the Reds aren't a club to eat contracts, the front office decided to rough it out with Hannahan, keeping him on board for the 2014 season.

Injuries plagued the 34-year-old early in the season, forcing him to postpone his season debut to July 27. Since returning to the active roster, Hannahan has been everything but productive, posting a .182/.206/.242 slash line with just two extra-base hits, two RBI, two runs scored and an 11-1 K/BB ratio.

Hannahan is scheduled to make $4 million through his team option for next season, and if you can justify cutting Ludwick loose for $4.5 million, then Hannahan has to go as well.

Al Behrman/Associated Press

Mat Latos

First, it's important to realize that I'm not advocating for the outright release of Mat Latos—as I did for the other two players—but actually for trading him in the offseason.

The Reds will enter the 2015 season with nearly the same roster with which they ended the 2014 season. Some of the bench players will be gone—e.g. Hannahan and possibly Chris Heisey or Skip Schumaker—but the rest of the roster, save Ryan Ludwick, will stay largely intact.

If the 2014 version of the Reds wasn't good enough to get to the playoffs, then what leads one to believe that the 2015 version would be any better, especially with left field still a glaring weakness in the team's lineup?

Dealing Latos would help address the weaknesses in left field and the farm system but would also relieve some of the stress that will be placed on the front office's wallet following the 2015 season.

Latos, Johnny Cueto, Alfredo Simon and Mike Leake are all due for contract extensions following the 2015 season. That's 75 percent of the starting rotation.

Signing all four will be impossible. Signing three could even prove difficult. So why not get a head start on that and bring back a more affordable young player and/or a player who can address the team's biggest weakness?

Moving Latos would certainly detract from the Reds' biggest strength, but with Tony Cingrani set to return to the rotation next season as well as the impending promotion of top prospect Robert Stephenson, the starting rotation would still be one of the better units in the National League.

Latos will enter the 2015 season with a very affordable salary in relation to his skill set—he's likely to earn a salary in the $10-15 million range—which makes him one of the best pitchers and best values in both the National League and Major League Baseball as a whole.

In addition to his affordable salary, Latos seems to have put his early season injury woes behind him, pitching to a 3.46 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 15 starts.

Assuming other teams in the league value Latos' skill set as much as the Reds do—or more given the lack of starting pitching on some teams—the Reds could command a return package of slightly lesser value than the one the Red Sox received for Jon Lester.

In fact, the Reds have already begun to let other teams know that Latos and even Leake are available both this season and this offseason.

Anybody I missed? Disagree with a selection? Let me know in the comment box below to start the discussion.

All stats are current through play on Sept. 6, 2014, and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. Contract information courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.