He's in the same boat as Yorman Rodriguez. Option years are running out and neither has developed as the Reds had hoped since signing them in 2007-08.
IMO, the rules for signing the July 2 International FA should be changed. Teams can sign these kids when they're sixteen and they're expected to develop within the same time line as High School players taken in the Amateur Draft that are 18. College players receive one less year, but they're typically 20-22 when signed and have as many as 7 years to develop. Generally the guys like YR and JD are out of options around the age of 23.
Under current rules they are 2 years younger than a HS player and 4-5 less than the average college player when they run out of options.
Sometimes, the 16 year old they sign is really 21, and he's been "beefing up" for years in the DR, so he can change his name to Juan Gonzalez or Albert Pujols in AA and the rest is HOF history. Former Reds Jim Bowden and supposedly, Jose Rijo, ran a Nats scam where they signed kids and got kickbacks as part of the signing bonus deal, so they were discounts, too.
IMO, ALL players need to go through the draft. If for no other reason, it prevents MLB teams from signing the next Juan Marichal or Orlando Cepeda for minimum wage at 16, and has another eye on the transaction particulars.