By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The bad news for Brandon Claussen was the good news for the Reds.

Claussen was cut from the roster before the Reds' 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins Sunday.

That means they are not desperate enough for starting pitching to rush Claussen, a 24-year-old left-hander who was the prize acquisition in the Aaron Boone trade.

"He needs to go to Louisville and pitch every fifth day," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "And, quite honestly, some guys outpitched him down here. But he's definitely a big part of our future."

Claussen was 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five games this spring. He started well. He had a 2.00 ERA after three outings, but he struggled his last two times out, allowing seven earned runs over five innings.

"He needs to work on the breaking ball," pitching coach Don Gullett said, "and continue to improve the changeup. That's his bread and butter pitch. He needs to use it a lot. The last couple outings, he relied on the fastball too much."

Claussen is less than two years removed from ligament replacement surgery. The Reds figure he'll get stronger as the season progresses.

The Reds didn't need Claussen for the rotation, largely because of how well Jesus Sanchez pitched. Sanchez, a 29-year-old left-hander, came to camp as a non-roster invitee and outpitched nearly everyone. Sanchez is 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA.

He is insurance if veteran Jimmy Haynes is not ready to take a spot in the rotation.

Cutting Claussen left the Reds with 15 healthy pitchers in camp.

Miley reiterated that the club is leaning toward carrying 12 pitchers.

"That's not set in stone," he said. "But it looks like we'll go that way."

Starters Cory Lidle, Paul Wilson, Jose Acevedo and Aaron Harang have the club made.

Haynes will make it if he's healthy.

That means seven pitchers will make it from this group of 10: Danny Graves, John Riedling, Ryan Wagner, Brian Reith, Todd Van Poppel, Mike Matthews, Phil Norton, Todd Jones, Jung Keun Bong and Sanchez.

Graves and Wagner are the only absolute locks in that group. Sanchez will make it as a reliever if he doesn't start.

Bong, obtained in a trade with Atlanta Friday, is almost certain to not make the team because he has options and the Reds want to use him as a starter. He needs to build endurance to do that. He hasn't pitched more than three innings this spring.

Matthews, a 30-year-old non-roster left-hander, has put himself on the bubble by pitching poorly (0-1, 6.00 ERA).

There will be no easy decisions.

"It's going to be down-to-the-wire competition," Gullett said. "That's good. Competition has brought out the best in guys. It won't be the first time guys have pitched well and not made a team."

Spring training results are usually deeply discounted. But Gullett thinks the last week will be telling because of what's at stake.

"It's somewhat of a test," Gullett said, "because guys will be feeling pressure. It's a real good evaluating tool."

Carrying 12 pitchers means the Reds have to cut five position players. The following are in: Starters Sean Casey, D'Angelo Jimenez, Barry Larkin, Brandon Larson, Jason LaRue, Austin Kearns, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn; and bench players Corky Miller, Juan Castro and Ryan Freel.

That's 11.

You can probably add Jacob Cruz and Javier Valentin to that list. Both have had strong springs.

That means Tim Hummel, Ray Olmedo, Jermaine Clark, Wily Mo Pena and McKay Christensen wouldn't make it.

Clark, who's been solid and is versatile, will probably make it if Larson starts the year on the DL. That's a real possibility. Larson has missed 18 games with turf toe.

The club is facing a decision on Pena. He is the only position player on the bubble who is out of options. Pena has hit well of late - .481 with two homers and eight RBI over his last 13 games. But at 22, he needs to play every day.

The Reds would have to get Pena through waivers to send him to the minor leagues.

So some interesting decisions are coming over the next five days. Miley said he thinks the roster will be set by the time the club breaks camp on Friday.

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com