Lewis, Renteria signed

A busy January continued for the Reds Monday as they checked off another item off of the wish list by signing Fred Lewis to a one-year big league contract worth $900,000, plus incentives.

Cincinnati was in search of a left-handed hitting outfielder for the bench and a potential leadoff hitter and the club gets both with the 30-year-old Lewis.

The club also announced the official signing of SS Edgar Renteria. Both players completed their physicals today. Renteria will earn $2.1 million in base salary with $900,000 in incentives based on plate appearances.

And with that, it appears the Reds are done making transactions. Their 40-man roster is now full.

“I think I’m done,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. “These are a couple of pieces we felt we needed.”

Of course, the Reds could sign players to Minor League deals. But it seems like the Reds have filled the holes they identified when winter started.

I just filed my story, which can be found on MLB.com/Reds.com, and it will have more quotes from Jocketty and others in an updated version. Ultimately, the club went with Lewis over Scott Podsednik for a couple of reasons.

“We felt we had more upside with Lewis, both with his age and in having control over him for a longer period of time,” Jocketty said. “We liked his all-around game.”

Follow me on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/m_sheldon