By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Reds solved their 25-man roster problem Tuesday by putting infielder Juan Castro on the disabled list. The move allowed them to keep 12 pitchers and Ruben Mateo.

Castro had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Oct. 1. He was held out of the first two weeks of spring training games but has played in 11 games this spring and is hitting .304.

"They want me to be 100 percent," he said. "I don't have all my range back."

Barring more moves, the Reds will come north with 12 pitchers, two catchers, five outfielders and six infielders.

And that's counting Wily Mo Pena as an infielder. Pena played first and third base during spring training, but he's better-suited for the outfield.

With Castro unavailable for at least 15 days, the only true backup infielder is Felipe Lopez, who made his first start of the spring at second base Tuesday. Castro will go to Triple-A Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment.

Starters (8): Barry Larkin, SS; Aaron Boone, 2B; Ken Griffey Jr., CF; Austin Kearns, RF; Adam Dunn, LF; Sean Casey, 1B; Brandon Larson, 3B; Jason LaRue, C.

Bench (5): Felipe Lopez, INF; Reggie Taylor, OF; Ruben Mateo, OF; Wily Mo Pena, OF; Kelly Stinnett, C.

Starting rotation (5): Jimmy Haynes, RH; Ryan Dempster, RH; Danny Graves, RH; Paul Wilson, RH; Jimmy Anderson, LH.

Bullpen (7): Scott Williamson, RH; Scott Sullivan, RH; Gabe White, LF; John Riedling, RH; Josias Manzanillo, RH; Kent Mercker, LH; Felix Heredia, LH.

Disabled list (3): Luke Prokopec, RHP; Russell Branyan, INF; Juan Castro, INF.