CINCINNATI -- The Reds added six players to their 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 Draft ahead of a deadline on Monday evening.
Infielder Alex Blandino, second baseman Shed Long, outfielder Jose Siri and right-handed pitchers Jose Lopez, Jesus Reyes and Zack Weiss had their contracts selected. Blandino, Long and Siri are Top 30 prospects in the organization, according to MLBPipeline.com.
The moves gave Cincinnati 39 players, and left space for one more addition.
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Players who signed at the age of 18 or younger become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft after five seasons. Those who were 19 or older have to be protected within four seasons. Any eligible player left off the roster becomes available to the other 29 teams in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 14.
A 12th-round pick by the Reds in the 2013 Draft, Long split last season at Class A Advanced Daytona and Double-A Pensacola. In the 104 games combined, he batted .281/.358/.477 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs. MLBPipeline.com ranked the 22-year-old as the organization's No. 7 prospect.
Siri, who was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, batted .293/.341/.530 with 24 homers and 76 RBIs in 126 games with Class A Dayton. The 22-year-old is ranked as Cincinnati's 22nd-best prospect.

The No. 25 prospect in the organization, Blandino rebounded from a poor 2016 season at the plate in Double-A. In 2017, the 25-year-old batted .265/.382/.453 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs over 125 games combined with Pensacola and Triple-A Louisville. He was a first-round pick (29th overall) in the 2014 Draft.
Lopez, 24, was a sixth-round pick in 2014 and split last season with Daytona and Pensacola. In 26 games (24 starts) he was 9-6 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, while tallying 147 strikeouts and 49 walks over 147 innings.
Reyes was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 and also split last season as a starter with Daytona and Pensacola. He was 8-9 with a 3.60 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, 47 walks and 111 strikeouts over 25 starts and 137 1/3 innings.
A reliever, Weiss was in big league camp with the Reds in 2016 but missed the season because of right elbow surgery. In 34 appearances in '17 with Daytona and Pensacola, he had a 2.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13 walks and 56 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Two top 30 prospects were not protected Monday in first baseman Gavin LaValley (No. 20) and first baseman/outfielder Nick Longhi (No. 26). Also left unprotected were catchers Chad Tromp and Joe Hudson and right-handed pitcher Wyatt Strahan.