Affeldt will start

The Reds confirmed what we expected all along: Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt will compete for a spot in the starting rotation.

"He has a history as a starter in his career," Wayne Krivsky said. "He signed with the Royals as a starter. He's versatile. He's done both. The idea coming over here is to compete for a spot in our rotation. We're excited about having him here. Our scouts like his stuff fora long time. To add someone like him at this point on the calendar . . . we're very, very pleased."

The one-year, $3 million deal was quickly reached after the Reds approached Affeldt about starting.

"That was key," Krivsky said. "He was very excited about the idea (of starting). When we heard that, now we're excited about the idea."

Affeldt had other offers, mostly as reliever.

“I was going over some of the deals," he said. "I really wasn’t feeling good about them. Wayne gave us a call and asked if I wanted to start. I jumped on it. It’s something I believe I can do.

"This is a fun opportunity."

It's not coincidence that Brett Tomko signed with Kansas City shortly after the Reds reached the agreement with Affeldt. The Reds had been considering Tomko.

The Reds designated outfielder Jeff Fiorentino for assignment to make room for Affeldt on the 40-man roster.

One other note on something lot of you have been asking about: Edinson Volquez does have options. That means all the young pitchers competing for spots in the rotation -- Volquez, Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto and Matt Maloney -- have options.