With just 22 games remaining in the 2025 regular season, the Cincinnati Reds are flat at .500.
They sit an alarming 16 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the division lead in the NL Central, and are 6 games back of the 2nd place Chicago Cubs. Meanwhile, their wanting pursuit of an NL Wild Card spot as a route to the playoffs sees them 5 games behind the New York Mets for the final spot (the Mets being behind both the Cubs and San Diego Padres), while the San Francisco Giants have leapfrogged the Reds in said chase, too.
The prospects for the 2025 playoffs are grim. FanGraphs has them at just 2.5% as of this morning, and even that feels incredibly optimistic. This season, I’m afraid, is just about on ice.
That may change with a miracle. What won’t, though, will be the emphasis placed on future seasons by this franchise’s front office, a group perpetually chasing persistent mediocrity in lieu of actually putting together a team that wins anything. With that in mind, here’s an early look at what pieces the Reds will likely still be leaning on come March 2026 that are already in-house (barring any significant dealing). I’ve provided some very rough estimates of what those players will be earning in salary for 2026, too.
Starting Rotation
Hunter Greene is under team control through 2029, and all signs point to him returning to anchor the team’s rotation next year. He’ll earn $8.33 million, per his contract terms.
Brady Singer will be in his final year of team control, and will likely chomp innings in the middle of the rotation (unless the Reds deal him and replace him for cheaper). He’ll earn a raise on his 2025 salary of $8.75 million in his final arbitration year, likely making in the ~$10.5 million range.
Nick Lodolo, barring further blister outbreak, will occupy a big part of the team’s rotation, too. He’s earning just a hair under $2 million in his first arbitration year in 2025 and will easily double that for his 2026 salary his second trip through the arb process, likely pushing ~$5 million after his excellent 2025 work.
Andrew Abbott will be back as a cog in the team’s rotation, the lefty slated to still be pre-arb and making just about league minimum again in 2026.
Chase Burns will still be earning roughly the league minimum in 2026, and the hope is that he jumps right into a prominent role in the rotation from day one.
In a similar vein,
Rhett Lowder will be back on a near minimum salary, and the hope is that his arm is fully recovered to the point where he’s impactful in the rotation from day one.
Chase Petty won’t turn 23 until April of 2026. He got hammered hard in his debut this season and likely is on the outside looking in, though he’s surely still part of the team’s plans for some point of 2026.
Brandon Williamson, who’s been out all season after recovering from Tommy John surgery, will be another option for a rotation spot. The same can be said for
Julian Aguiar all around – and both will still be making roughly league minimum.
Carson Spiers, meanwhile, underwent Tommy John surgery just this July, and odds are he’ll miss the bulk of the 2026 campaign while recovering, too.
Former starting options like
Graham Ashcraft,
Lyon Richardson, and
Connor Phillips are all under team control in their pre-arb years in 2026, though all look set for relief roles going forward.
Each of
Nick Martinez,
Wade Miley, and
Zack Littell will be free agents at the end of the 2025 season.
If the Reds stay in-house with a five-man rotation that features all the players making over league minimum (and is rounded out by some combination of the league-minimum options listed above), they’ll have nearly $25.5 million alotted to their starting rotation.
Bullpen
We should start with the departures here, since they’re significant not only in terms of roster numbers, but also in terms of salary numbers. In other words, in no world do I anticipate the Reds trying to complete their 2026 Opening Day bullpen simply by staying in-house, so there will be significant money needed to invest in this part of the roster from outside.
Emilio Pagan,
Scott Barlow, Martinez, and
Brent Suter will potentially be free agents, though the Reds do hold a $3 million team option on Suter. That’s a combined 168 relief appearances and a little over $34 million in total salary obligations for the 2025 roster.
As for the in-house options who the Reds will control in 2026,
Tony Santillan will still be earning roughly league minimum as a key piece, as will Ashcraft. Richardson and Phillips, as mentioned earlier, likely have their names pencilled in as pre-arb pieces earning league-minimum, too.
Ian Gibaut, if healthy, will be controlled in his second year of arbitration, and could potentially serve as a bulk-inning setup guy again. His salary will be ever so slightly higher than the $800K he earned in 2025, his first arbitration year.
Sam Moll will earn a slight raise on his $1.01 million 2025 salary in his second arbitration year and likely profiles as one of the team’s go-to lefties.
Reiver Sanmartin, who was recently added back to the roster and then quickly demoted, is another lefty option – he’s still going to be pre-arb.
Hard-throwing rookies
Luis Mey and
Zach Maxwell figure to feature in the bullpen in some form or fashion in what will be their second season as big leaguers, both of whom will still be on league-minimum salaries.
Yosver Zulueta will be out of options in 2026 but still earning league minimum, should the Reds keep him around.
It’s an incredibly cheap bunch that’s still around, but that’s not nearly enough arms to flesh out an entire bullpen for a season. There will be significant additions in some form or fashion.
Catcher
The Reds sought out
Jose Trevino, traded for him, and promptly signed him to an extension last offseason. He’ll be making $5.25 million in 2026 and will feature prominently behind the plate.
Tyler Stephenson, meanwhile, enters his final season of team control in 2026 and will earn a raise on his $4.92 million 2025 salary. The Reds face a critical decision with him, as he’s once again flashed brilliance at times while also a) being banged up a bunch and b) largely underperforming all peak expectations. If they aren’t going to sign him to an extension, well, this winter would be the time to trade him and move on. However…
…
Will Banfield isn’t exactly a viable alternative, and he’s next up on the depth chart. If the Reds were to move on from Stephenson, they’d need to find another catcher capable of playing significant time, since their best prospect behind the plate –
Alfredo Duno – is still years away from the bigs.
Infield
Sal Stewart just got here and looks like he’ll be here for awhile, though where he plays is still very much TBD. The quickest path, I’d say, is to be the team’s regular 1B.
That leaves
Spencer Steer in a bit of a questionable spot, though his versatility does make him look like a pretty great utility option if the Reds choose to use him that way. He’s only been good for a 93 OPS+ since the start of last year with a .402 SLG, which isn’t good enough for a corner infielder who’s also not an elite defender, and he’s going to get a raise in his first trip through arbitration this winter.
Elly De La Cruz is the team’s star, even though he’s disappointed greatly in this season’s second half. His defense at SS has been bad at crucial moments even though, on the whole, he’s an incredibly talented defender out there. I doubt the Reds move him off the position this winter, and he’s not yet arb-eligible until 2027.
Ke’Bryan Hayes looks like he’s going to be the everyday 3B now that his bat has shown up enough to match his elite glove skills. He’s under contract through at least 2029 and will make $7 million in 2026.
Matt McLain has been brutal this year, but at least he’s slightly heated up lately – since July 31st, he’s hit .277/.323/.398 in 95 PA (26 G). Of course, that’s come with a bit less than regular playing time while also having Stewart promoted to potentiall eat into his playing time, but maybe it’s competition that he needs to get him back in gear. He’s going to keep getting time at 2B (and maybe at SS a little) because his glove is elite, and he’s not yet arb-eligible until 2027 – so he’s still dirt cheap.
Gavin Lux hasn’t really been an infielder at all of late, but that’s where he came up (and probably should be) so he’s listed here. He’ll be in his final year of team control in 2026 earning a raise off his $3.33 million 2025 salary
Santiago Espinal is a dugout favorite, for whatever reason, and is earning $2.4 million this year with his final arbitration year set for 2026. I would non-tender him, though the affinity for what he does sincerely makes me wonder if the Reds will bring him back to do so once again.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand won’t be arb-eligible until 2027, and it remains to be seen just how much, if at all, he’s in the Reds plans going forward after struggling once again at the plate in 2025. They did experiment with getting him some time at 3B again, so perhaps there’s just enough defensive versatility for him to be a bench guy, though I doubt that’s what they have in mind.
Tyler Callihan, though, could be that bench guy should his surgically repaired arm have him back to 100% by next spring. He’s pre-arb.
Connor Joe will likely be non-tendered after making $1 million in his first year of arbitration, but he does have a pair of options left should the Reds choose to bring him back at roughly the same cost.
Miguel Andujar is a free agent at season’s end.
Outfield
Noelvi Marte made the move to RF when Hayes was acquired at the deadline and he’s been the best Reds hitter ever since. He looks like a cornerstone the way he did before his 2024 PED suspension, and frankly I wouldn’t be shocked if he was atop the team’s priority list for an extension. That’s not to say they’ll, y’know,
actually extend him since this team is broke and largely failson, but he’s probably atop that list anyway. He’s not arb-eligible until 2028.
TJ Friedl turned 30 this month but is also turning in another solid season in CF. He’s too old to want to lock-in to an extension, but he’ll have well earned the raise he’ll get in his first year of arbitration in 2026. Something in the ~$3 million range, I’d estimate.
Will Benson will hit arbitration for 2026, and while the team’s decision to cut ties with Jake Fraley initially looked like it would open up time for him as a righty-masher, his playing time has been sparse. I think he offers enough at what will still be a relatively cheap cost that they keep him around, but I doubt he gets the chance to really play his way into regular time.
Blake Dunn began the year at the big league level and never really made it back, did he? He’s not arb-eligible until 2028 and turns 27 tomorrow. Roster depth, and nothing more I don’t think.
Rece Hinds turns 25 tomorrow and, to his credit, has mashed the hell out of the ball at AAA this year. He’ll be in the mix for a role next year, though I’d be shocked if the Reds don’t sign someone with a similar profile as him who’s actually proven it at the big league level already…
…someone like
Austin Hays, who’ll be a free agent at season’s end.
