29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Laynce Nix has refused a minor league assignment from the Reds thus becoming a free agent. Nix played in 116 games for the Reds last season and he was 74 for 309 (.239 avg, .767 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 15 homers and 46 RBIs. The Reds didn’t like the fact that Nix whiffed 81 times last season but he is essentially gone because he was about to get a raise in arbitration. Nix has now played in 386 games in his major league career and he is 280 for 1,184 (.236 avg, .698 OPS) with 157 runs scored, 44 homers, 164 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Reds will miss Nix next year as he was solid against righty pitching.

UPDATE: The Reds have re-signed Laynce Nix to a minor league deal.

The Reds have lost 26-year old righty swinging catcher Craig Tatum on waivers to the Orioles. Tatum played in 26 games for the Reds last season and he was 11 for 68 (.162 avg, .471 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Tatum also played in 64 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 51 for 213 (.239 avg, .638 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs. The Reds will likely have a much better back up catcher than Tatum next season so they won’t miss him at all.

31-year old righty swinging outfielder Darnell McDonald has refused a outright assignment to the minors thus becoming a free agent. McDonald played in 47 games for the Reds last season and he was 28 for 105 (.267 avg, .706 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs. He has now played in parts of three seasons in the majors appearing in 68 games in which he is 34 for 147 (.231 avg, .609 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Reds won’t miss McDonald much if at all in 2010 and beyond.

The Reds have lost 27-year old righty reliever/starter Ramon Ramirez on waivers to the Tampa Bay Rays. Ramirez pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Reds last season and he was 0-0 with a 3.65 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He pitched in parts of two years for the Reds appearing in 16 games (4 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. It was not smart to place Ramirez on waivers as the Reds should have tried to trade him instead.

The Reds have outrighted 26-year old lefty swinging 2B Danny Richar and 34-year old lefty swinging 1B Kevin Barker to AAA. But, they both refused the assignment and have become free agents. Richar played in 7 games for the Reds this season and he was 2 for 8 (.250 avg, .583 OPS) with 1 run scored. In his two years with the Reds, Richar played in 23 games in which he was 10 for 44 (.227 avg, .517 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Kevin Barker played in 29 games for the Reds this season and he was 9 for 32 (.281 avg, .708 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Richar will likely find a new job easy because of his age but it will be harder for Barker to find work in 2010.