C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Left-hander Wandy Peralta said he was extremely nervous on Tuesday as Reds manager Bryan Price and general manager Dick Williams were calling players into Price’s office at the Reds’ spring training complex on Tuesday.

Peralta later got the news he’d made the team’s Opening Day roster, even if he hadn’t been sure which way it was going until he heard it for himself.

Patrick Kivlehan and Stuart Turner share lockers side-by-side, with Kivelhan wearing No. 75 and Turner No. 74. Turner’s locker is the first one upon entering the clubhouse, looking down a row of lockers that were once filled with players and now featured mostly hangers in otherwise empty lockers.

“A lot of friends are gone, a lot of the guys we were on the back fields with,” Kivlehan said on Wednesday morning. “We survived.”

Quiz: Test your knowledge of Reds Opening Day

The trio is among seven rookies on the Opening Day roster, the most for a 25-man opening day roster since the 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks.

He and Turner were both told Tuesday that they had made the team.

Turner, a Rule 5 pick from the Twins, had an inkling early Tuesday that he had made it. With Devin Mesoraco starting the season on the disabled list, the team would need a catcher. Since Rob Brantly was out of options and Turner is a Rule 5 pick, the Reds risked losing both if Brantly were the choice.

Turner got further confirmation when Mesoraco pulled him into the video room Tuesday morning to show him just how he liked to use video to study opponents.

“I mean, I’d been hearing some talk the last couple of days. I wasn't taking anything for granted,” Turner said. “That guy might be talking in general. I didn't tell the family, I didn't tell my wife or anything until I heard it out of Bryan's and Dick's mouth.”

As a Rule 5 pick, the Reds must keep him on the 25-man roster (or major-league disabled list) for the entire season or offer him back to the Twins.

“If I came into spring worried about that the whole time, I don't think I'd have performed to the level that I have,” said Turner. “I just have to roll with the punches and whatever happens, happens. If it's a week or a year, it doesn't matter -- it's an opportunity and I'll do my best to take advantage of it.”

Homecoming for Gennett

Scooter Gennett didn’t waste any time reporting to the Reds. Claimed off of waivers from the Brewers on Tuesday morning, Gennett immediately went from the Brewers’ facility in Maryvale, Ariz., down I-10 to Goodyear.

“It was important to get all my stuff in here, get the stuff I don't need any more out,” Gennett said on Wednesday. “And also to meet some of the guys. They were playing a game when I came over and I met some of the players and most of the coaching staff.”

Gennett, 26, was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Lebanon. His family moved to Sarasota, Fla., when he was 9. A Reds – and especially Barry Larkin – fan as a kid, he grew up going to Riverfront Stadium and then when he moved to Sarasota, he went to Reds spring training there.

“I was a Reds fan until I was drafted in 2009 by the Brewers,” Gennett said. “Now I can say I've always been a Reds fan.”

He still has family in the area and is excited to start the season here and get his fill of Skyline, as well.

“I felt like I was dreaming there for a minute,” Gennett said. “It's going to be nice going there and spend some time with them rather than coming in for three and leaving.”

Gennett then made a nice impression in his first at-bat in a Reds uniform, hitting a solo home run off of the Indians’ Andrew Miller in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game against Cleveland.

Futures games rosters announced

The Reds’ top 10 position player prospects in Baseball America’s ranking of the organization’s top prospects will participate in the two exhibition games between the Reds and their top prospects. Rookie Davis will start for the Reds in Louisville on Friday and Amir Garrett will start in Dayton the next day.

Last year’s first-round pick (No. 2 overall) Nick Senzell leads the Futures squad. The third baseman out of the University of Tennessee was named the No. 1 prospect by Baseball America. He’s joined by outfielder Taylor Trammell (No. 5 overall on the prospect list), outfielder Jesse Winker (No. 6), outfielder Aristides Aquino (No. 7), catcher Tyler Stephenson (No. 10), catcher Chris Okey (No. 14), outfielder T.J. Friedl (No. 15), second baseman Shed Long (No. 16), outfielder Phillip Ervin (No. 18) and shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez (No. 22).

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