The Cincinnati Reds today made a roster cut of sorts when they traded third baseman and slugger Juan Francisco to the Atlanta Braves for right-handed pitcher J. J. Hoover.

Francisco has always had prodigious power, but had a Wily Mo Peña air about him. Tons of power and talent with almost no way of ever achieving it.

In his report on the trade, John Fay also touched on how he didn’t exactly impress the Reds in Spring Training this year.

Francisco was out of options and the Reds were out of patience with him. He came to camp overweight and had not rehabbed from a calf injury to the club’s satisfaction.

“Some of the things weren’t working out the way you want them to,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “Hopefully, he’ll find happiness and get it together in Atlanta. If things go right and go in the proper direction, he could be a force.”

Hoover gives the Reds more pitching depth, as he’s a player with options and both starting and relieving experience. John Sickels wrote a profile on him last year that rated his ceiling as a third or fourth starter.

Hoover has the four classic pitches: fastball, curveball, slider, changeup. His heater is a tick above average in the low 90s, but works well due to the contrast with his secondary pitches. All three of his non-fastball offerings are rated as solid major league average. Although he doesn’t have a genuine plus pitch, none of them are weak, arsenal is diverse, he mixes them well, throws strikes, and has been extremely durable in his career.

That reminds me a lot of Sam LeCure.

For most teams, Hoover would profile as a solid number three or four starter, chewing up innings at a good clip with consistent performance. But the Braves see Hoover’s path to the majors as clearing more quickly in the bullpen, and it is hard to argue with the results so far: he’s been outstanding in that role in Triple-A.

Hoover will be reporting to the Reds’ AAA affiliate, Louisville, but there was no word on what role the Reds will use him in. Regardless, he adds to the team’s depth in the pitching department, which is something you can never have enough of. If you doubt that, just look at the 2011 Reds.

As for Francisco, it’ll be interesting to see if his change of scenery helps at all. He should have some opportunity’s with the Braves’ third basemen out for a little while with injury. Of course, that change of scenery thing never really helped Wily Mo.

The Cincinnati Reds start the season next Thursday, but there are still a few players left to cut from the roster to get down to the required 25.

The pitching staff is likely set. As John Fay notes, there are only 12 healthy pitchers on the roster: Jose Arredondo, Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, Bill Bray, Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Francis, Mat Latos, Mike Leake, Sam LeCure, Sean Marshall, and Logan Ondrusek.

The Reds almost always carry 12 pitchers, and I don’t think anyone expects 2012 to start off any differently. The only question is, “Who will fill what role?”

Arroyo, Cueto, Latos, and Leake are all locks for the rotation, with the fifth spot coming down to a decision between Bailey, Chapman, and Francis. I’d love to see Chapman make it, but if he doesn’t, the Reds should resist the urge to send him to the bullpen. He needs to start this year, and since it’s his last option year, this is his last chance to learn in the minors. If he makes the rotation, I’d expect both Bailey and Francis to join the bullpen.

As for the real remaining cuts, those will be among the 16 position players. Three have to go.

A lot of the roster is set. The final two spots for positions players will come down to Juan Francisco, Todd Frazier, Willie Harris, Paul Janish and Wilson Valdez. Francisco and Valdez are out of options.

The “out of options” rule says those players will get one last chance, so Francisco and Valdez are in. Paul Janish won’t make it, so it’s really down between Frazier and Harris. I’m hoping Frazier gets the nod.

Apparently, while in the process of punching Reds fans in the gut, closer Ryan Madson tore his elbow ligament.

Following an examination in Cincinnati Saturday morning, the club said that Madson’s elbow ligament had torn off of the bone. He will need season-ending Tommy John surgery.

“Off of the bone”? Eww. The only time that’s a description that can be used favorably is when referring to slow-roasted barbecue. And this definitely has nothing to do with that.

This hurts. This hurts a lot.

General manager Walt Jocketty tried to be positive about it.

“We told the team and said to stay positive. We have good alternatives we can turn to. Others clubs have done it in the past. I did it in St. Louis. When Izzy went down, Wainwright stepped in and we won the World Series. Madson got the job because Lidge got hurt [with the Phillies]. Is it the ideal thing? No. But you have to stay positive.”

That will be easier said than done. Now the team will have to determine how to shuffle bullpen roles, with Sean Marshall the leading contender to take over closing duties. We’ll have to stay tuned to see how this affects Aroldis Chapman’s conversion to starting.

No matter what, though, this is will be a hard blow to overcome.

The only proper response to a Cincinnati Reds fan upon hearing this news is of the four-letter variety.

Yes, Ryan Madson, who has yet to appear in a Spring Training game due to a sore elbow, had a setback.

Closer Ryan Madson flew to Cincinnati to be evaluated by medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek. The examination will take place [Saturday].

Madson, who’s been dealing with a sore elbow all spring, had a setback on Thursday. With Opening Day 12 days away, it’s unlikely that Madson will be ready by then — no matter how minor the setback.

Gulp.

There’s now way of looking at this as positive. The Reds’ shiny new closer will not be ready on Opening Day, and there’s now the possibility that he won’t be available this whole year.

I’m hoping for something that he can recover from quickly, but right now, I’m not too confident.

Dayton Daily News reporter Hal McCoy recently returned from Arizona and Cincinnati Reds’ Spring Training. This was his 40th one, so he’s certainly seen enough to know that the results don’t matter.

You see, spring training games will fool you every time. Outcomes are unimportant because pitchers are working on different things, hitters are working on different things, the manager tries different things he’d never try in a game and he uses lineups he’d never use and batting orders he’d never use and players who might never see a major-league game, ever, get playing time.

That sounds good, since the Reds aren’t exactly winning a lot of games so far this year. But saying it’s “experimentation time” still leaves you wanting more. What insight has all of that experience watching baseball given McCoy?

He lists five things he saw and learned. I’ve quoted parts of a couple of them.

The health of Scott Rolen. He is his old self after missing most of last season and undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. […] Barring a calamity like a mishap sliding or a collision at home plate, Rolen will start the season in better shape and health than he has been since he has been with the Reds.

Better than he was in 2010? Rolen put up MVP numbers in the first half of that year. If he has even half a year as good as that, the Reds’ offense will be in excellent shape.

Drew Stubbs is making more contact, striking out less, putting the ball in play. Prediction: He will strike out less than 150 times this year and he won’t lead the league in strikeouts.

People make too much out of Stubbs’ strikeouts. By that I mean that I don’t think there as damaging as a lot of people do. However, Stubbs made way too many outs last year. If he doesn’t improve this year, the Reds will need to find a new center fielder. But from McCoy’s observations, it sounds like Stubbs has greatly improved his plate approach.

The rest of McCoy’s observations are certainly worth your time, too.