CINCINNATI, Ohio - Former College of Idaho pitcher Riley O'Brien was one of four players added to the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster to protect top prospects from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
The 2017 All-NAIA West selection was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Reds in August and spent the final month of the season training at Cincinnati's alternate player site as part of their development pool. As a member of the 40-man roster, O'Brien will likely be invited to the Reds Spring Training Site this February in Goodyear, Ariz., and participate in their big league camp.
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Pitchers Vladimir Gutierrez, Jared Solomon and Brandon Bailey were also added to the roster by the National League Central team.
O'Brien posted a combined 9-7 record with a 2.40 ERA in two seasons with the Yotes, striking out 141 men. He holds the C of I school record for lowest opponents' batting average in a career (.206), ranks third all-time in strikeouts per nine innings pitched (9.29) and ranks among the Top-10 in both ERA and strikeouts.
An eighth-round draft pick by the Rays in the 2017 First-Year Players Draft, O'Brien spent the 2019 season at Class-A Charlotte and Class-AA Montgomery - posting a 3.16 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 102 innings of work. He is currently rated the No. 16 prospect in the Reds system by MLB Pipeline.
O'Brien becomes the first C of I player to be on a 40-man roster since Jason Simontacchi pitched for the Washington Nationals in 2007. Simontacchi remains the lone Coyote to play in the Major Leagues - going 26-17 over four seasons with the Cardinals and Nationals - while also pitching for Italy in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
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