By Mark Sheldon

One more piece of the roster puzzle is in place. Infielder Ramon Santiago, a non-roster invite to camp, has been told by the Reds that he has made the team and will go north.

Reds manager Bryan Price said that it doesn’t mean players like Kristopher Negron haven’t made it and that there are other spots still open for competition. Santiago will earn $1.1 million this season in the big leagues.

One reason the 34-year-old Santiago was picked was that he’s a veteran who has come off of the bench before in Detroit and Seattle. It’s a harder role for a younger player, according to Price. There were several other reasons too.

“When our season got over, we looked at our club and felt like we needed to have that type of a player,” Price said. “Ramon has been in a tough spot as a big leaguer, as a utility infielder. He’s a guy that doesn’t put up big offensive numbers but does a lot of the little things to help you win games. Especially in the National League, if you’re in a double switch situation — especially if it involves [Zack] Cozart — you’d like to have a reliable sure-handed infielder that really could go anyplace. And he’s a good situational offensive player. He’s not going to drive in a lot of runs or hit home runs but he moves runners, he bunts well. He’s a scrappy guy with two strikes, puts the ball in play. He knows how to play the situational game and that’s very important. And he’s guy that can not play for a while and you still get a nice performance from him.”

There has not been any corresponding 40-man roster move made to make room for Santiago, yet.

More to come on MLB.com/Reds.com.