RSS Reds Team Notes

[Cincinnati Reds]

Is there a left-handed twist still up the Cincinnati Reds sleeve?

It isn’t exactly a who’s who of modern baseball sluggers, but it’s impossible not to notice a few specifics about the hitters the Cincinnati Reds had in 2025 and, conveniently for this article, no longer have.

Miguel Andujar was their biggest trade deadline acquisition on the hitting front, a right-handed hitter who mashed lefties with the team formerly known as the Oakland A’s prior to landing in Cincinnati shortly after July 31st.

Don’t forget, though, that the Reds actually sought out the services of Garrett Hampson back in late May. It was certainly early enough in the year that I don’t blame you one bit for forgetting about it, but the Reds also gave Hampson a pair of starts (among a trio of games played) in left field – and he hits right-handed, too. That all came just two weeks after the Reds sent Andrew Moore to the San Diego Padres to acquire Connor Joe – a right-handed hitter who specializes at hitting lefties – to help augment their corner outfield and corner infield mix.

Hell, infielder Santiago Espinal even started four games as the team’s left fielder in 2025! The career (right-handed hitting) utility infielder landed those among the just six games in his career where he’s started in left – with the other two coming as a member of the 2024 Reds!

Those moves came as Austin Hays – a right-handed hitting corner outfielder – battled injuries once again during a 2025 season in which he was otherwise precisely what the Reds had signed him to be. That, of course, was a right-handed hitting corner outfielder to hit in the middle of their lineup regularly because they sure as hell needed just that.

Hays, Joe, Hampson, and Andujar were all brought in during calendar year 2025, and all are now in free agency. Espinal, brought in early in 2024, is also a free agent. Right-handed hitters, all of them!

The specific dynamics of their presences and departures aren’t a one-for-one during this offseason, of course. Sal Stewart emerged as someone who almost perfectly can replicate what Andujar provided, and more. Ke’Bryan Hayes was also brought into the fold in that time, his bat completely imperfect despite him being a righty who’ll play everyday and hit lefties (at least) better than he hits righties. Noelvi Marte was moved to right full-time as a result of those two developments, so the Reds at least have built in a cadre of some righties who’ll help fill those roles.

It’s pretty obvious that’s something they knew they needed at several points last year, and they addressed it (even if they never addressed it well).

As of right now, they have (on paper) an outfield that will again likely feature one righty and two lefties most days. Last year, that was Hays, TJ Friedl, and Jake Fraley/Will Benson. This year, it looks like JJ Bleday/Will Benson, Friedl, and Marte will form that updated corps most days, with newly acquired Dane Myers (a righty) in that mix. On an everyday basis, the infield of Hayes, Elly De La Cruz (switch-hitter), Matt McLain, and Spencer Steer all has the capability of hitting righty, with Stewart – whether at DH or rotating through – providing that, too.

Both catchers Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino hit righty. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Rece Hinds also hit righty, and are the depth at both corner infield and corner outfield that the Reds have in-house at the moment.

It’s enough to make you wonder if simply adding Bleday, who was brought in just last week, is enough to help augment their lefty vs. RHP portion of the lineup. Keep in mind the 2025 Reds posted just a 97 wRC+ against RHP as a team, a number that ranked tied for just 21st overall. That was also with Fraley in the fold, all while Bleday managed just a 76 wRC+ against RHP in his season in otherwise hitter-friendly Sacramento. It’s enough to make the otherwise obvious fit of chasing Kyle Schwarber earlier this offseason even that much more obvious, really.

The question now is whether the Reds will actually put their money towards addressing the pretty decent need for a left-handed hitter before Opening Day. Because if they do not, that puts even more outsized pressure on Gavin Lux, whom they went out and acquired prior to 2025 in a move that, at the time, seemed redundant in its own right.

They certainly won’t be after the top remaining names on the market who fit that bill like Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger. Luis Arraez? Perhaps, considering he ticks all the Reds boxes for a) making contact and b) not hitting homers at all, though where he’d slot in among the everyday nine remains to be seen. It’s a spot on the greater roster that still remains to be determined, even if Bleday and Benson have some compelling cases as to why they deserve the chance given the current options.

Anyway, here’s another picture of current free agent Jesse Winker for no particular reason:

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/hotstove/49368/cincinnati-reds-rumors-luis-arraez-jesse-winker

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

The Cincinnati Red most likely to be dealt before Opening Day is…

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Reds fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Cincinnati Reds saved all of their holiday season news for one single day, backfilling the openings in their outfield with a signing of lefty JJ Bleday and acquiring righty Dane Myers from the Miami Marlins later that day.

Both moves were low-cost, with Bleday on a reported salary of $1.4 million for 2026 (with team control through arbitration going forward) and Myers still a pre-arb guy who’ll make essentially the league minimum this season. While it’s certainly Cincinnati’s M.O. to bring in talent that’s a) cheap as can be and b) controllable going forward, it also may be an indication that they are just about tapped out with their payroll possibilities with pitchers and catchers due to report to Goodyear in just over one month.

That’s not to say the Reds are ‘done,’ though. In the wake of those signings, the crew from The Athletic relayed that the team is still open to further additions – namely in the outfield – should things line up the right way for them. That’s encouraging considering Bleday’s awful 2025, Myers’ extremely limited experience (despite already being 30 years old in 2026), TJ Friedl’s injuries (and him also hitting 30), and Noelvi Marte’s up and down career to date (and extremely limited experience as an actual outfielder).

Will Benson, of course, is still very much in the mix, and here’s where we point out that Benson, Bleday, Myers, and Marte all still have options remaining if need be. These are pieces of the puzzle with upside, yes, but aren’t necessarily etched in stone for 162 games as big leaguers next year if things don’t turn around for them.

That opens the can of worms. If the Reds are a) still open to further additions of specific impact and b) are right around tapped-out on their payroll, it’s hard to see them bringing in anyone of note without shedding a little big of salary in the other direction. With that in mind, the latest edition of MLB Reacts for the Reds focuses on which currently rostered veteran making more than league-minimum in 2026 profiles as the most likely to be moved by the Reds in the event of them bringing in another impactful player to offset it.

In Gavin Lux, you’ve got a guy who continues to be positionless and who’s set to make ~$5 million in 2026 in his final year of team control before reaching free agency. Despite possessing zero pop (.374 SLG in 2025 while calling GABP his home park), he did post a 102 wRC+ on a team otherwise devoid of offense, his left-handed swing a good complement to the litany of righties around. Still, he’s more DH than anything and his lack of defense meant he was just a 0.3 fWAR and -0.2 bWAR guy, and there’s worry his .351 BABIP last season rendered him nothing more than a slightly lucky, light-hitting platoon bat who doesn’t play defense well anywhere. If someone bites – and you can replace his offense with someone with more pop – he could be on the move.

Spencer Steer, on the other hand, still has three full seasons of team control as he hits arbitration (at roughly $4.5 million) for the first time in 2026. A shoulder injury set him back early, but he rebounded well after an awful March/April (.767 OPS, 19 HR in 122 G) and was a Gold Glove finalist for his solid work at 1B. He’s versatile defensively – to a point – but Sal Stewart’s emergence could mean he’s a decent ‘sell-high’ guy who just got a bit more expensive. Whereas moving Lux would be a salary clearance, Steer – who’s salary is almost the same – would be to actually move a player and get something decent in return while having an in-house replacement there.

Brady Singer came in last year from Kansas City and did exactly what the Reds hoped he’d do. He stayed healthy, made every start, and even overcame a mid-year slump to finish as a 3.1 fWAR/2.9 bWAR rotation cog. He’s durable, and that’s vital for most every team, but he’s also going to be the highest paid player on the Reds at some ~$11 million in 2026 in his final year before free agency. So, he’s expensive by Cincinnati standards, not going to sign long-term, and provides an essential service any team would appreciate. If the Reds trust their inexperienced pitching depth enough, moving Singer would be the most obvious way to a) get an actual return and b) free up the most money to use elsewhere.

Finally, there’s TJ Friedl, who played more in 2026 than he ever had before and put a lot of his lost 2024 season in the rear-view mirror. He plays a premium defensive position, is one of the few actual outfielders the Reds do have, is their leadoff hitter every single day, and gets on-base without striking out – something the Reds preach to every one of their players. However, he turned 30, his SLG has dipped for three straight seasons, and the once elite speed and baserunning he displayed prior to the leg injuries in 2024 haven’t returned. He’s set to make ~$5 million via arbitration, too, and has two more years of control after 2026, so there’s a ton of Friedl out there the Reds would be trading, but that means (in theory) they could get a lot back for him, too…if they can find a team who thinks he’s more fixable than beginning an inevitable decline already.

What say you? Which of these four veteran Reds do you think is the most likely to be moved before Opening Day?

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/hotstov...t-likely-to-be-traded-singer-friedl-steer-lux

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Keegan Thompson claimed by Rockies, Lyon Richardson outrighted

The MLB transaction schedule gets a bit wonky during the holiday season, especially around the waiver and claiming process. That made for an extra-anxious wait for both Keegan Thompson and Lyon Richardson when both were designated for assignment following the sigining of outfielder JJ Bleday and the acquisition of outfielder Dane Myers from the Miami Marlins.

Both Cincinnati Reds righties formerly had spots on the 40-man roster. The Reds deemed them as the two players whose roster spots were the most fungible, and so they were effectively booted off the roster in late December. Today, we finally found out what’ll happen to them.

As MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed, Thompson was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies, while Richardson cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Louisville.

Reds news: RHP Keegan Thompson was claimed off waivers by the Rockies. Thompson, who signed a $1.3 million contract in November, was designated for assignment on Dec. 27.RHP Lyon Richardson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Louisville.

— Mark Sheldon (@msheldon.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T18:58:18.036Z

Thompson’s career with the Reds will go down as a mere footnote seeing as he never pitched for them at any level following his split-contract contract signing in free agency back in November. Obviously, the Reds liked enough of what they saw of him last year with AAA Iowa in the Chicago Cubs organization to take a flier on him, but weren’t so enamored with him that they were afraid to use his roster spot in another way. Now, he’ll take his talents to the high altitude of Denver – good luck with that.

In Richardson, I think the Reds lucked out a bit. Obviously, their former 2nd round pick has been all over the map both at the AAA level and with the Reds in parts of the last three seasons, but the arm talent is still very much there when you watch him pitch. For a time during the 2025 season he was pitching in high leverage situations in games the Reds led, and owned a 1.85 ERA and 20/8 K/BB through his first 20 appearances (24.1 IP). The wheels fell off shortly thereafter, though, but he’s still just 25, still only has one full year of being a reliever exclusively under his belt, and at least has that short track record of success on a big league mound to lean back on.

He’ll report to AAA after being outrighted since he does not have enough service time to reject the move. My guess is that he’s still very, very much in the plans of the Reds for 2026, but his hot/cold streak (and the fact that he’s out of options) meant they needed his roster spot enough to gamble on him. Now, they’ll have the chance to be patient with him and call him up when he’s either busted the door down or when an injury issue ahead of him on the depth chart gives him another shot.

Frankly, I’m pretty surprised the Rockies didn’t claim him, too, though as a Colorado resident for the last 14 years I should know by now to never be surprised at a Rockies decision.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/cincinn...egan-thompson-claimed-rockies-lyon-richardson

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Cincinnati Reds links – FanDuel TV deal up in air for Reds

It’s almost impossible to talk about the Cincinnati Reds without talking about money.

How much they have. How much they don’t.

Who they could sign. Who they must deal away.

Who does – and does not – have a long-term contract extension.

Despite them consistently operating in the bottom third of the league in terms of average annual payroll, the Reds have at least historically not had to have their direct revenue streams talked about much in public. That, though, hasn’t been the case in recent seasons, as their local TV deal has continued to be a thorn in their side.

You once watched their broadcasts on Fox Sports Ohio. You’ve since seen them play on Bally, on FanDuel, and heard the name ‘Diamond Sports Group’ more times than you’d ever cared to hear. Over the last seven or so seasons, the strain put on existing deals that were based on the classic cable-cord model has been exacerbated exponentially, with increased use of streaming hitting the old contracts right in their wallets.

The Reds aren’t alone in this, as nine MLB clubs are waiting to hear what happens next to Main Street Sports Group, the operator who is now in charge of the regional FanDuel networks that once were run by the now bankrupt Diamond Sports Group. The math (and the overall problem) is quite simple – deals were made and revenue promised based on estimates of just how many people would tune in to watch the old fashioned way, but technology (and the ways in which streaming access has flourished) has put pressure on carriers to amend those terms or simply lose all leverage. As they’ve tried to adapt, though, they’ve lost said leverage to gouge viewers, and now they simply don’t make as much on each broadcast as they thought they would when they signed deals to broadcast local games for teams.

As a result, they don’t have the money to pay what they said they’d pay. The St. Louis Cardinals even got straight up stiffed on a payment last month, as The Athletic reported earlier on Wednesday, and the other MLB clubs (as well as several NBA and NHL clubs in similar situations) are now waiting anxiously to find out if that will happen to them next. Will they simply not get paid? Will MLB step in to run the local broadcasts (as they have in other markets)? Will Main Street Sports Group get sold to someone who’ll find the money?

Last winter Rob Manfred had luxury-tax money — up to $15m per team — to give clubs that took haircuts on their TV deals: a “media disruption distribution.” But it was a 1-year deal that MLB did not bring back this winter. The problems, though? They’re back.www.nytimes.com/athletic/694…

— Evan Drellich (@evandrellich.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T16:15:34.860Z

It’s enough to cause headaches to any team involved, but the Reds, specifically, must have migraines. Their ownership group is spread between so many different entities that this revenue hiccup cannot simply be wiped away by one single owner saying screw it, sign the guy and I’ll figure it out later. Instead, every single move they make is based on pre-agreed upon budgets signed off on by the litany of owners, and any minor tweak to that forces a return to the round table for another set of negotiations. So, this going on with just over a month remaining to set their roster prior to spring training beginning is quite the conundrum for Cincinnati’s front office and operations crew to manage.

Do they have $8 million to spend? $1.5 million?

Are they actually over budget given a revenue pause?

This hiccup isn’t the lone reason why the trade market has gone completely silent and free agent spending has been incredibly slow to take off this offseason, but it’s surely one of the very significant driving factors. For the Reds, that just might mean they sit even more idle than they’ve already been as the dust settles.

In other news from The Athletic, Brady Singer might be a fit for the New York Mets, who are checking into the trade market for starting pitching. He’s set to be Cincinnati’s highest-paid player in 2026 at a bit over $11 million in his final year of team control, and moving him sure would help bridge any revenue shortfall from the stuff I talked about up above. C. Trent Rosecrans talks about the club’s starting pitching depth in his latest look at the team’s roster, too.

Over at Reds.com, Mark Sheldon did a Q & A with readers on Monday that discussed a wide range of topics, including the likelihood that any current Reds are in line for long-term extensions.

The prospect crew at MLB Pipeline made some predictions about how things will shake out in 2026, and Jonathan Mayo picked Sal Stewart to be the NL Rookie of the Year. That’s pretty cool! Sal even got some light support in their poll of MLB execs on the 2026 NL ROY outlook.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/red-reposter/49376/cincinnati-reds-links-fanduel-tv-sal-stewart-nl-roy

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Cincinnati Reds arbitration filing deadline tracker

Today (Thursday the 8th of January) marks the deadline for arbitration-eligible MLB players and their teams to swap salary numbers for the 2026 season. For the Cincinnati Reds, that means negotiations with a full dozen of their currently rostered players need to wrapped up today lest they end up at the hands of an independent arbiter in another month.

Technically the deadline rolls in at 8 PM ET this evening, giving most of the day for news of any agreements, significant gaps in figures, or – god forbid – an actual long-term contract extension to hit the wires. We’ll update this post as that news comes in, giving you the latest on where the likes of Tyler Stephenson, Brady Singer, Spencer Steer, TJ Friedl, Gavin Lux, Matt McLain, et al stand with the Reds and their bottom line.

For now, just enjoy this picture of Joey Votto. Did you know Joey made his big league debut roughly six weeks after Steele Hall was born?

Spencer Steer: $4 million​

The Reds avoided arbitration with Spencer Steer, settling on a $4 million salary for 2026. That’s a tad below the $4.5 million estimated by MLB Trade Rumors back in November.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the news.

Gavin Lux: $5.525 million​

Welp, all the ‘savings’ from Steer’s deal being below the MLBTR model goes up in smoke as the Reds go $525,000 higher for Lux than the estimate.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post had the news.

TJ Friedl: $3.8 million​

Gordon Wittenmyer of The Enquirer has Friedl landing at $3.8 million, which is significantly below the $4.9 million estimated by MLBTR.

Will Benson: $1.725 million​

Included in the above link from Gordo is the news that Benson settled at $1.725 million, which is more or less spot on MLBTR’s estimate.

Brady Singer: TBD​

Tony Santillan: TBD​

Nick Lodolo: TBD​

According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon on Thursday evening, the Reds have agreed to one-year deals with each of Singer, Santillan, and Lodolo. The terms of those deals have yet to be revealed, however.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/cincinnati-reds-rumors/49384/cincinnati-reds-arbitration-tracker

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

It still makes sense for the Cincinnati Reds to trade Gavin Lux

Yesterday marked the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to come to an agreement on contract numbers for the 2026 season lest they simply be forced to publicly file and wait for compromise. The Cincinnati Reds landed on a $5.525 million deal with Gavin Lux for the season – his final arb-eligible year before reaching free agency at season’s end.

Perhaps it was that dwindling team control. Perhaps it was the $5.525 million he’ll now earn despite posting a -0.2 bWAR season in 2025 in 503 PA and still not really having a position to play. Either way, he earned the most support among you, the voters, in this week’s MLB Reacts survey that asked which among Lux, Brady Singer, Spencer Steer, or TJ Friedl was most likely to be traded away before Opening Day.

Steer and Friedl received minimum support in this, likely due to a) them actually being pretty productive, b) each having multiple years of team control remaining, and c) earning lower salaries (directly because they’ve not accrued more service time). In Singer, you’ve got the pitching version of Lux in that he’s in his final year before free agency and will be the team’s highest earner at over $12 million, but for him, he’s actually coming off a really good debut year with the Reds.

Lux is an odd bird roster-wise. He’s pretty much a DH at this point despite being just 27 (and a former shortstop), as his defense in LF (and even on the infield) was suspect at best last year. He’s a DH, though, that doesn’t slug, with just 5 dingers last year and a .374 slugging percentage in 2025. His .105 ISO was the 10th lowest among the 146 MLB players who logged at least 500 PA, and that all came with an unsustainably high .351 BABIP, to boot.

He’s a platoon-bat only. He hit .282/.361/.400 in 440 PA against RHP last year (with a .361 BABIP) while only managing one (1) extra-base hit in 63 PA against southpaws. So, you don’t want him on the field against pitchers who use one arm, and you don’t want him playing defense pretty much ever.

That’s got a role on many rosters, especially those representative of teams that actually pony up cash all over the place. But on a Reds roster that’s still lacking a big thumper (and is once again balling on a light budget), he seems a luxury good holding a roster spot that would be better used on either a) a positionless big thumper or b) a guy who can actually play good defense all over, especially on the infield.

You wouldn’t get a ton for him at this point, but you’d probably at least be able to move that money off the books. That’s as valuable as anything right now for Cincinnati, who is scraping and clawing to afford reclamation projects for key roles with guys like JJ Bleday with that money tied up.

Still, it seems unlikely to happen. The Reds know they’re searching for a needle in a haystack in terms of a lineup-altering bat that won’t break the bank or the farm, and they’ve probably resigned themselves to not finding it at this juncture. So, they’ve got their fallback plan in Lux, an imperfect fit who’s a bit overpaid but a guy who hopefully won’t be as valueless in 2026 if they can just keep him out of LF. It’s a decision that puts the onus on the rest of the roster to outperform, as their DH on most days won’t be the best bat in the order the way it has been traditionally (and is for most of their competition).

Such is life with the Reds. They aren’t going to be bad because they’ve got Gavin Lux on their team (or in their lineup), but you can only populate your finite roster with so many of those guys before you look up and wonder why you didn’t simply pool that money together to pay a really good player instead.

MLB Reacts is brought to you by FanDuel.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/trade-ideas/49395/gavin-lux-trade-rumors-cincinnati-reds-mlb-reacts

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Community Prospect Rankings: #1 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system

Red Reporter’s annual crowdsourcing is here! The 2026 Community Prospect Rankings begin now!

Perhaps more than any year in recent memory, the top ranking down on the Cincinnati Reds farm isn’t completely obvious. The club has sported the likes of Chase Burns and Elly De La Cruz atop their minor league rankings over the last handful of years, the type of tantalizing prospects who’ve combined both elite talent and the numbers to match it as they rose to the top of the list. Elite tools that jump directly off the page, with Elly’s speed and power and Burns’ ability to absolutely destroy hitters with 100+ mph heat and an ankle-breaking slider.

The 2026 edition has several quite incredible prospects, to be sure, it’s just that their skills don’t wow you in an overtly athletic way like Elly and Chase. Speed and velocity are not the calling cards of Sal Stewart, of Rhett Lowder, or of Alfredo Duno. Still, that trio has the makings of a franchise catcher who hits for power, a guy who legitimately could hit .300 or flirt with a .400 OBP, and a rotation cog who may well lead the club in K/BB for years to come.

There are also some highly touted prospects still working their way back from injuries like Cam Collier and Edwin Arroyo, guys whose upside isn’t fully reflected in their work over the last year (or more). There’s also the tantalizing upside of youngsters Steele Hall and Tyson Lewis, who project well but simply haven’t had enough time to show it.

That’s what y’all are here for! It’s up to you, the Red Reporter community, to rank these prospects, and rank them we will begin to do just about every day for the next month as we barrel ever closer to spring training in Goodyear, Arizona.

Now, for the voting on the top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system, with the the first wave of candidates listed in no particular order. We’ll add more names as the voting rolls on, and if there’s someone not listed you think is deserving let us know in the comments.

Steele Hall, SS (18 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL); 2025 Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama, once committed to powerhouse University of Tennessee before signing with the Reds for $5.75 million

Pros: Speed, and plenty of it; projectable power and potential five-tool player whose defense and arm look like they’ll play plenty well at short; just 17 years old when drafted after reclassifying a year early

Cons: It’s all still ‘projectable’ as, again, he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero professional PA to show for it

Hall reclassified to the class of 2025 despite originally being part of the class of 2026, and the Reds – who’d been scouting him already – thought he had the talent to eventually mature into a player who’d be in the mix for the #1 overall pick in 2026. So, when he was there at pick #9 in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him, knowing full well there was no rush for his development.

He’s drawn comparisons to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty damn lofty. Despite not having played a pro game and still being just 18, he’s ranked 79th in MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 overall prospects in the game. How quickly he can physically mature and adapt to breaking balls at the top levels remains to be seen, but the speed, glove, and arm all look like they’ll be big-league caliber in very short order.

Sal Stewart, 3B/1B/2B (22 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .255/.293/.545 (.839 OPS) in 58 PA with Cincinnati Reds; .309/.383/.525 (.907 OPS) with 20 HR in 494 PA split between AA Chattanooga (Southern League) and AAA Louisville (International League)

Pros: Elite strike zone recognition, 60 grade hit tool with plus in-game power; A-grade mustache and just lost 26 lbs with aims of being in The Best Shape of His Life™ by spring training

Cons: Still searching for his best defensive position

The Reds were in desperate need of thump down the stretch in 2025, and they called up young Sal at age 21 to provide it. Provide it he did, mashing a team-best 5 dingers in September/October and providing an instant spark.

He clubbed 20 homers in just 118 minor league games last year. He once walked more than he struck out during his time with Daytona in the Florida State League. He’s hit absolutely everywhere he’s been, and looked like he’ll continue to do that with the Reds, too.

The only question now is where he’ll play. The Reds went out and got batless Ke’Bryan Hayes and his Gold Glove to be their 3B for the present and future, and Spencer Steer – himself a Gold Glove finalist at 1B last season – looks settled at 1B. Dooming a newly-minted 22 year old to DH-only duties seems extreme, so the most likely scenario is that the Reds will try to slide Sal into the lineup defensively here, there, and everywhere, the hope being that uncertainty doesn’t impact his hitting ability.

Rhett Lowder, RHP (24 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 11 ER, 15 H, 13/3 K/BB in 9.1 IP split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 5 ER, 9 H, 8/1 K/BB in 9.0 IP with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Pounds the strike zone; mixes both a four-seam and two-seam fastball with an elite changeup that paints the edges of the zone while also working in a developing slider

Cons: Mostly lost 2025 season due to forearm and oblique strains

Lowder will turn 24 in March prior to the start of the 2026 season, and for his birthday we should all chip in and gift him some good health. He didn’t have that at all last year, the forearm issue derailing him before he could ever get started and the oblique strain derailing the already derailed derailment. He did finally make a return to the mound in AFL play in October, and pitched well enough to show he was healthy (and looked healthy enough for me to mostly ignore that small-sample of stats).

He has incredible command and feel on the mound, pounding both sides of the zone to both lefties and righties. He can run his fastball up to 97 mph, though velocity isn’t what makes his stuff work – it’s in the movement.

He’s one of Cincinnati’s five-best starting pitchers, with the only question being how aggressive the Reds will be with him early in 2026. They may ease him back at the AAA level with plans on him having plenty of innings in his arm in the season’s second half, meaning it could be even more time since we see him back in Cincinnati after his impressive cameo at the end of 2024.

Alfredo Duno, C (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .287/.430/.518 (.948 OPS) with 18 HR and 95/91 BB/K in 495 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League); .213/.356/.298 in 59 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Immense power, more walks than strikeouts, and developing into a good enough defensive catcher that he’ll be able to stick there long-term (with a big arm, to boot)

Cons: A few notable injuries have sidelined him so far; will he get too big to stay behind the plate?

Duno led all players in the Florida State League in homers (18). He led the entire league in walks (95), ranked 2nd in both OBP (.430) and SLG (.518), and led the whole league in OPS (.948). The only guy who really threatened his lead in rate stats was Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, who MLB Pipeline now rates as the #1 prospect in all of baseball.

All that from a catcher with a plus arm and good enough defense to stick there. That’s pretty damn elite!

Duno is the catcher of the future for the Reds, and given their reluctance to extend Tyler Stephenson long-term it sure feels like that future is going to be present pretty dang soon. Very interested to see how aggressive they get with his promotions during the 2026 season, as he’ll likely start with A+ Dayton and move quickly if he’s doing what we all expect him to do.

Tyson Lewis, SS (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)

Pros: Statcast darling with elite exit velocity and power with his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and plus speed gives him a chance to stick at SS long term, though a move off the position seems likely

Cons: Struck out at an alarming 35.4% rate with Daytona (and at an alarming 29.1% rate overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams ‘regression’

Tools. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool there is. He hit a ball over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska prior to being a 2nd round pick (with an overslot bonus) by the Reds, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.

The upside here is obvious, as he’s got one of the loudest bats at any level. The swing and miss stuff, though, is something he’ll have to completely overhaul as he moves up the ladder, though getting out of the extremely pitcher-friendly confines of the FSL will perhaps help that some.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/community-prospect-ranking/49399/cincinnati-reds-top-prospect-rankings

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Cincinnati Reds solidify bullpen with signing of Pierce Johnson

The bullpen the Cincinnati Reds leaned on heavily during the 2025 season was obviously headed for a complete overhaul this winter. Nick Martinez, Emilio Pagan, Scott Barlow, and Brent Suter were all headed for free agency, while the likes of Ian Gibaut also ended up out of the organization after some administrative decisions.

Pagan re-signed, which helped. Keegan Thompson was brought in initially, though he was lost again in a waiver claim before ever throwing a pitch for the club. On top of that, Chase Burns – who pitched admirably as a reliever down the stretch – is slated for a spot in the team’s starting rotation, and their overall pitching depth was further tested by Zack Littel hitting free agency after being acquired at the July trade deadline.

As roles continue to be redefined, lefty Caleb Ferguson was brought in to stabilize what the team does not have from the left side after Taylor Rogers’ brief stint with the club and Suter’s departure into free agency. Brandon Williamson and Juilian Aguiar will presumably provide depth in some form or fashion either at the AAA level as starting depth or, perhaps, in long relief, and Rhett Lowder is healthy again to pick up the slack in the rotation as it comes.

Still, the team needed another righty workhorse, one in the mold of recent seasons from Barlow and Buck Farmer. On Sunday, they addressed that in a big way, as MLB Network insider Jon Heyman relayed that they’ve reached an agreement with free agent righty Pierce Johnson, who became a free agent at season’s end when the Atlanta Braves bought out his option.

Pierce Johnson to Reds. Nice pen pickup.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 11, 2026

The former 1st rounder is heading into his age 35 season, and he’s settled in as a reliable leverage reliever after a pro career that bounced him all over the big leagues (and even sent him to Japan for a time). Since being scooped up by the Braves midway through the 2023 season, he established himself as a legit bullpen cog, firing a 2.91 ERA and 3.61 FIP across 147 appearances (139.0 IP).

In 2025 in particular, he fired 59.0 IP of 3.05 ERA/3.91 FIP ball, leaning heavily on a curveball that he threw a whopping 72.1% of the time. He mixes in a four-seam fastball that averages between 95-96 mph as well as a cutter, on occasion, though it remains to be seen if Derek Johnson has something else up his sleeve for the Denver, Colorado born righty.

Johnson earned $7 million in each of the 2024 and 2025 seasons, though Atlanta did buy him out for $250K this offseason to avoid paying him $7 million again in 2026. It remains to be seen just how much the Reds will be on the hook for in this deal, though I’m sure we’ll hear more specifics about it soon. It’s going to be a deal that eats up a lot of the minuscule budget that the Reds had remaining to spend, to be certain, so how they’ll pivot trying to address the offense after this is a question for all parties involved.

Regardless, their pitching staff is much, much better after this signing. Welcome to the fold, Pierce.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/hotstov...-solidify-bullpen-piece-johnson-braves-rumors

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Community Prospect Rankings: #2 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system

Sal Stewart was the runaway winner of voting for the #1 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system in this year’s CPR. Now, we get to find out which future star of the Reds you think is deserving of the next spot on this list!

We are working with a new polling system this time around, and I’ll embed it at the bottom of the post for you to use to cast your votes. If for some reason that doesn’t make itself readily available, you can also find the voting option by clicking here.

To the voting we go!

Steele Hall, SS (18 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL); 2025 Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama, once committed to powerhouse University of Tennessee before signing with the Reds for $5.75 million

Pros: Speed, and plenty of it; projectable power and potential five-tool player whose defense and arm look like they’ll play plenty well at short; just 17 years old when drafted after reclassifying a year early

Cons: It’s all still ‘projectable’ as, again, he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero professional PA to show for it

Hall reclassified to the class of 2025 despite originally being part of the class of 2026, and the Reds – who’d been scouting him already – thought he had the talent to eventually mature into a player who’d be in the mix for the #1 overall pick in 2026. So, when he was there at pick #9 in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him, knowing full well there was no rush for his development.

He’s drawn comparisons to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty damn lofty. Despite not having played a pro game and still being just 18, he’s ranked 79th in MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 overall prospects in the game. How quickly he can physically mature and adapt to breaking balls at the top levels remains to be seen, but the speed, glove, and arm all look like they’ll be big-league caliber in very short order.

Rhett Lowder, RHP (24 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 11 ER, 15 H, 13/3 K/BB in 9.1 IP split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 5 ER, 9 H, 8/1 K/BB in 9.0 IP with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Pounds the strike zone; mixes both a four-seam and two-seam fastball with an elite changeup that paints the edges of the zone while also working in a developing slider

Cons: Mostly lost 2025 season due to forearm and oblique strains

Lowder will turn 24 in March prior to the start of the 2026 season, and for his birthday we should all chip in and gift him some good health. He didn’t have that at all last year, the forearm issue derailing him before he could ever get started and the oblique strain derailing the already derailed derailment. He did finally make a return to the mound in AFL play in October, and pitched well enough to show he was healthy (and looked healthy enough for me to mostly ignore that small-sample of stats).

He has incredible command and feel on the mound, pounding both sides of the zone to both lefties and righties. He can run his fastball up to 97 mph, though velocity isn’t what makes his stuff work – it’s in the movement.

He’s one of Cincinnati’s five-best starting pitchers, with the only question being how aggressive the Reds will be with him early in 2026. They may ease him back at the AAA level with plans on him having plenty of innings in his arm in the season’s second half, meaning it could be even more time since we see him back in Cincinnati after his impressive cameo at the end of 2024.

Alfredo Duno, C (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .287/.430/.518 (.948 OPS) with 18 HR and 95/91 BB/K in 495 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League); .213/.356/.298 in 59 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Immense power, more walks than strikeouts, and developing into a good enough defensive catcher that he’ll be able to stick there long-term (with a big arm, to boot)

Cons: A few notable injuries have sidelined him so far; will he get too big to stay behind the plate?

Duno led all players in the Florida State League in homers (18). He led the entire league in walks (95), ranked 2nd in both OBP (.430) and SLG (.518), and led the whole league in OPS (.948). The only guy who really threatened his lead in rate stats was Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, who MLB Pipeline now rates as the #1 prospect in all of baseball.

All that from a catcher with a plus arm and good enough defense to stick there. That’s pretty damn elite!

Duno is the catcher of the future for the Reds, and given their reluctance to extend Tyler Stephenson long-term it sure feels like that future is going to be present pretty dang soon. Very interested to see how aggressive they get with his promotions during the 2026 season, as he’ll likely start with A+ Dayton and move quickly if he’s doing what we all expect him to do.

Tyson Lewis, SS (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)

Pros: Statcast darling with elite exit velocity and power with his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and plus speed gives him a chance to stick at SS long term, though a move off the position seems likely

Cons: Struck out at an alarming 35.4% rate with Daytona (and at an alarming 29.1% rate overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams ‘regression’

Tools. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool there is. He hit a ball over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska prior to being a 2nd round pick (with an overslot bonus) by the Reds, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.

The upside here is obvious, as he’s got one of the loudest bats at any level. The swing and miss stuff, though, is something he’ll have to completely overhaul as he moves up the ladder, though getting out of the extremely pitcher-friendly confines of the FSL will perhaps help that some.

Cam Collier, 3B/1B (21 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .279/.391/.384 with 4 HR, 21 2B in 396 PA split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .221/.368/.325 with 1 HR in 95 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Plus hit tool and his plate discipline is rapidly moving into plus category as well; plenty of power that we’re still hoping can return in-game after his thumb injury

Cons: Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and he’s likely already a 1B-only at this point

Collier busted his thumb in spring training in 2025, and the break (and recovery) caused him to miss the first two months of the season. A rehab stint came in Arizona next, and he eventually worked his way all the way up to AA Chattanooga…albeit with a shocking lack of power from the guy who swatted 20 homers for A+ Dayton in 2024, a mark that tied him for the Midwest League lead.

What Collier did do in 2025, though, is begin to show some pretty elite OBP skills, and if he can maintain that and get the power back a year removed from the broken thumb, well, the Reds have the guy they gave an overslot bonus to in the 1st round back in 2022 who repeatedly made Top 100 overall prospect lists in his first years as a pro. And even if that all only comes as a 1B who’s not the world’s greatest defender that’s an incredibly valuable thing, especially with the dearth of offense the franchise owns right now.

Chase Petty, RHP (23 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 6.39 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 102/58 K/BB in 112.2 IP with AAA Louisville Bats; 13 ER in 6.0 IP with Cincinnati Reds

Pros: Three plus pitches, including a fastball that flirts with 100 mph and 60-grade slider and cutter

Cons: Lit up in first cups of MLB coffee, and struggled in AAA after being sent back down

Petty has long been on the radar of every scout in the game, a former 1st round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of high school (whom the Reds had eyes on drafting back then, too). He was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Sonny Gray the other way, and he’s pitched his way onto multiple Top 100 overall prospect lists since.

Of course, he’s also pitched his way back off those same lists, with much of his work in 2025 doing just that. He was shelled at the big league level, though that’s with the caveat that he’d just turned 22 years old when that went down. The stuff’s still there, he’s just struggled to blend it all together for long enough stretches to show he can be an effective big league starter. The hope is that the lumps he took in 2025 paired with a mostly healthy offseason for the first time in a while will send him into 2026 both ready and with something to prove.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...422/cincinnati-reds-prospect-rankings-top-100

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Sal Stewart is the #1 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system!

At the time it was arbitrarily decided to end the nearly two-day voting window for the #1 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system in this, our 2026 Community Prospect Rankings, Sal Stewart was the runaway victor with over half of the 266 responses.

Here are the official results from the new voting mechanism that we opted to use this year after the move to the new CMS rendered the old polling system unavailable:

Sal, who made his big league debut in 2025 with aplomb after mashing his way through both AA Chattanooga and AAA Louisville before that, has already established that he’ll be a major, major part of the Reds club in ‘26 despite only turning 22 years of age in December. Whether he’ll be the team’s primary 1B, an option all around the infield, or even the go-to DH most days remains to be seen, but what’s undeniable is that his unique combination of strike-zone awareness and in-game power is going to be impossible to keep out of the lineup.

There was varied support among the others included in this particular round of voting, and we’ll add more names to the voting threads as we progress through these rankings.

For now, though, let’s congratulate Sal and hope the Reds truly did draft the kind of player who’ll be a cornerstone of their lineup for the next decade – or more!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...412/sal-stewart-cincinnati-reds-top-prospects

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Reds bring in former Rockies 1B Michael Toglia on minor league deal

A cumulative .201/.278/.389 batting line across 1067 big league PA isn’t going to tear the roof off your expectations for a baseball player, not after that player having plied his trade in a home ball park for parts of four seasons that’s notorious for inflating offensive production. Especially not when that player is also already 27 years old and pretty much limited to 1B duties only on defense.

The same can somewhat be said for a cumulative .233/.275/.404 batting line across 501 big league PA, not after that player has plied his trade in a home ball park for parts of three seasons that’s notorious for inflating offensive production. Especially not when that player turns 27 years old and is pretty much limited to 1B duties only on defense.

The second player I’ve talked about here is none other than Christian Encarnacion-Strand, whom we’d all pretty well agree is a player you’d love to have in your system for one more year if a) you aren’t counting on him and b) he’s got plenty of opportunity to ‘figure it out’ finally while stashed in the minors. There have been flashes from him throughout his pro career, and at times you were even damn excited about him!

The first player I’ve talked about here is also now part of the Cincinnati Reds. That would be former Colorado Rockies 1B Michael Toglia, who put together a 25 homer campaign in 2024 (with a feasible .767 OPS) and inked a minor league deal with the Reds over the weekend.

At this point of the offseason – when the Chicago Cubs are literally matching this move by signing Alex Bregman for $175 million – this is no move that will move any needles. It’s a depth move, a chance to bounce back, a bargain-bin purchase every so slightly below the bargain-bin signings of JJ Bleday (and the deal for Dane Myers). It’s a fringe-roster move, albeit with a guy who did sock 25 big league homers in the 2024 season – 17 of which actually came away from Coors Field.

Toglia’s flawed in many of the same free-swinging ways as CES. He struck out an astounding 39.2% of the time in his 337 big league PA last year, that after being between 32.1% and 36.7% in every other minor league season. He walks quite a bit more than his counterpart – a career 9.5% rate at the big league level that’s the exact same as TJ Friedl’s career mark – and the former 1st round draftee out of UCLA has mauled AAA pitching to the tune of .286/.379/.557 (.936 OPS) in 754 career PA at that level.

Again, we’re talking about the Reds signing a player who we’ll only see if their actual plans fall completely apart. It’s hard to get truly excited about the move in that context when there are so many things about their actual plans that still need to be addressed. But as scratch-off tickets go, this one at least has a reasonable chance of turning into something non-zero in that event, and that’s not nothing, I suppose.

Maybe it’s nothing. It’s still the Reds, after all.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/hotstove/49403/michael-toglia-cincinnati-reds-rumors-colorado-rockies

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Community Prospect Rankings: #3 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system

Alfredo Duno took home the honors of being ranked 2nd in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, and now we move on to the candidates for spot #3.

There’s an embedded Google Form with polling that should show up at the bottom of this post, but if you’ve found this through a search engine that strips out embeds, I have included a link to said poll here.

There’s a big list for this one since there are many deserving candidates at this juncture, so dive into this voting frenzy and let us know who the #3 prospect is in this year’s CPR!

Steele Hall, SS (18 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL); 2025 Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama, once committed to powerhouse University of Tennessee before signing with the Reds for $5.75 million

Pros: Speed, and plenty of it; projectable power and potential five-tool player whose defense and arm look like they’ll play plenty well at short; just 17 years old when drafted after reclassifying a year early

Cons: It’s all still ‘projectable’ as, again, he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero professional PA to show for it

Hall reclassified to the class of 2025 despite originally being part of the class of 2026, and the Reds – who’d been scouting him already – thought he had the talent to eventually mature into a player who’d be in the mix for the #1 overall pick in 2026. So, when he was there at pick #9 in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him, knowing full well there was no rush for his development.

He’s drawn comparisons to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty damn lofty. Despite not having played a pro game and still being just 18, he’s ranked 79th in MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 overall prospects in the game. How quickly he can physically mature and adapt to breaking balls at the top levels remains to be seen, but the speed, glove, and arm all look like they’ll be big-league caliber in very short order.

Rhett Lowder, RHP (24 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 11 ER, 15 H, 13/3 K/BB in 9.1 IP split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 5 ER, 9 H, 8/1 K/BB in 9.0 IP with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Pounds the strike zone; mixes both a four-seam and two-seam fastball with an elite changeup that paints the edges of the zone while also working in a developing slider

Cons: Mostly lost 2025 season due to forearm and oblique strains

Lowder will turn 24 in March prior to the start of the 2026 season, and for his birthday we should all chip in and gift him some good health. He didn’t have that at all last year, the forearm issue derailing him before he could ever get started and the oblique strain derailing the already derailed derailment. He did finally make a return to the mound in AFL play in October, and pitched well enough to show he was healthy (and looked healthy enough for me to mostly ignore that small-sample of stats).

He has incredible command and feel on the mound, pounding both sides of the zone to both lefties and righties. He can run his fastball up to 97 mph, though velocity isn’t what makes his stuff work – it’s in the movement.

He’s one of Cincinnati’s five-best starting pitchers, with the only question being how aggressive the Reds will be with him early in 2026. They may ease him back at the AAA level with plans on him having plenty of innings in his arm in the season’s second half, meaning it could be even more time since we see him back in Cincinnati after his impressive cameo at the end of 2024.

Tyson Lewis, SS (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)

Pros: Statcast darling with elite exit velocity and power with his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and plus speed gives him a chance to stick at SS long term, though a move off the position seems likely

Cons: Struck out at an alarming 35.4% rate with Daytona (and at an alarming 29.1% rate overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams ‘regression’

Tools. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool there is. He hit a ball over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska prior to being a 2nd round pick (with an overslot bonus) by the Reds, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.

The upside here is obvious, as he’s got one of the loudest bats at any level. The swing and miss stuff, though, is something he’ll have to completely overhaul as he moves up the ladder, though getting out of the extremely pitcher-friendly confines of the FSL will perhaps help that some.

Cam Collier, 3B/1B (21 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .279/.391/.384 with 4 HR, 21 2B in 396 PA split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .221/.368/.325 with 1 HR in 95 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Plus hit tool and his plate discipline is rapidly moving into plus category as well; plenty of power that we’re still hoping can return in-game after his thumb injury

Cons: Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and he’s likely already a 1B-only at this point

Collier busted his thumb in spring training in 2025, and the break (and recovery) caused him to miss the first two months of the season. A rehab stint came in Arizona next, and he eventually worked his way all the way up to AA Chattanooga…albeit with a shocking lack of power from the guy who swatted 20 homers for A+ Dayton in 2024, a mark that tied him for the Midwest League lead.

What Collier did do in 2025, though, is begin to show some pretty elite OBP skills, and if he can maintain that and get the power back a year removed from the broken thumb, well, the Reds have the guy they gave an overslot bonus to in the 1st round back in 2022 who repeatedly made Top 100 overall prospect lists in his first years as a pro. And even if that all only comes as a 1B who’s not the world’s greatest defender that’s an incredibly valuable thing, especially with the dearth of offense the franchise owns right now.

Chase Petty, RHP (23 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 6.39 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 102/58 K/BB in 112.2 IP with AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 13 ER in 6.0 IP with Cincinnati Reds

Pros: Three plus pitches, including a fastball that flirts with 100 mph and 60-grade slider and cutter

Cons: Lit up in first cups of MLB coffee, and struggled in AAA after being sent back down

Petty has long been on the radar of every scout in the game, a former 1st round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of high school (whom the Reds had eyes on drafting back then, too). He was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Sonny Gray the other way, and he’s pitched his way onto multiple Top 100 overall prospect lists since.

Of course, he’s also pitched his way back off those same lists, with much of his work in 2025 doing just that. He was shelled at the big league level, though that’s with the caveat that he’d just turned 22 years old when that went down. The stuff’s still there, he’s just struggled to blend it all together for long enough stretches to show he can be an effective big league starter. The hope is that the lumps he took in 2025 paired with a mostly healthy offseason for the first time in a while will send him into 2026 both ready and with something to prove.

Edwin Arroyo, SS (22 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .284/.345/.371 with 3 HR, 12 SB in 521 PA with AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League)

Pros: High contact, low-K approach at the plate (just 16.9% K% in ‘25); elite defensive shortstop with plus arm who can switch-hit with success from both sides of the plate; always young at every level he’s played

Cons: Power has dried up since his lost 2024 due to shoulder surgery – will it ever return?

We’ll forgive you if it seems as if we’ve been waiting on Edwin Arroyo forever. After all, it’s now 2026 and the Luis Castillo deal with Seattle was all the way back in 2022. Still, Arroyo played the first 84 games of his 2025 season as a 21 year old in the AA Southern League, and by season’s end he finished tied for 4th in the league in hits (with 132).

By most all accounts, he could step in defensively as Cincinnati’s everyday shortstop today and be pretty dang good at it. Imagine that paired with even a .320 OBP from a switch-hitter! That’s not at all out of the realm of expectations for what he’d be right this very minute!

There’s the shoulder issue we must address, of course. The injury and surgery cost him pretty much all of a lost 2024, and the power he showed in the lower minors simply wasn’t there with Chattanooga in 2025. Maybe that was a bit of rust, a bit of ebb and flow as he cut his strikeout rate significantly from where it was before, a bit of simply working his way all the way back – and, if so, there’ll be more of it in 2026 than in 2025. If it sapped a good bit of his swing for good, though, than he’ll have to reinvent himself.

Editor’s note: I’m still irrationally high on Arroyo, and think he rockets back up prospect lists with a really impressive 2026 with AAA Louisville (and will be in the Reds infield mix by season’s end). But don’t let that sway your vote as the farther down the list he falls this year the more smug I get to be when he’s atop the list next year!

Hector Rodriguez, OF (22 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .298/.357/.481 with 12 HR, 6 SB in 345 PA with AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .260/.304/.405 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 230 PA with AAA Louisville Bats (International League)

Pros: Plus hit tool featuring low strikeout rates (15.0% last year); potential plus power that’s emerging more in-games

Cons: Aggression at the plate sometimes leads to high chase rates; likely more a corner OF than a CF

Like Arroyo, Rodriguez has continued to be much younger than average at every level, and he technically won’t even turn 22 years old until March. So, we’re talking a 21 year old who spent a third of 2025 at the AAA level and held his own against much older competition here.

He had typically been a gap to gap hitter from the left side, though his power began to show through more in 2025. He does have a tendency to swing at just about everything, though his low K-rate shows just how well he is at actually making contact with even the bad pitches (though that often results in bad contact, too). If he refines that as he moves up – and as the pitchers get better and around the zone more – there’s a chance he’ll keep showing better results, too.

He still needs to show more at the AAA level, but if he does he’ll be in the Reds OF mix as soon as it happens.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/community-prospect-ranking/49429/cincinnati-reds-top-prospect-rankings

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Community Prospect Rankings: #4 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system

Rhett Lowder took home the #3 spot in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, doing so in a pretty dominant fashion. Next up, we’ll figure out who deserves spot #4 on the list with another crowded ballot full of high draft picks and well regarded risers within the system.

There will be an embedded Google Form with polling that should show up at the bottom of this post, but if you’ve found this through a search engine that strips out embeds, there will be a link right here included during open voting that will take you to your ballot. Once voting closes, they’ll disappear into the ether and you’ll never see them again (until voting for the next spot begins the next day).

On to the voting for the prospect deserving of spot #4!

Cam Collier, 3B/1B (21 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .279/.391/.384 with 4 HR, 21 2B in 396 PA split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .221/.368/.325 with 1 HR in 95 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Plus hit tool and his plate discipline is rapidly moving into plus category as well; plenty of power that we’re still hoping can return in-game after his thumb injury

Cons: Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and he’s likely already a 1B-only at this point

Collier busted his thumb in spring training in 2025, and the break (and recovery) caused him to miss the first two months of the season. A rehab stint came in Arizona next, and he eventually worked his way all the way up to AA Chattanooga…albeit with a shocking lack of power from the guy who swatted 20 homers for A+ Dayton in 2024, a mark that tied him for the Midwest League lead.

What Collier did do in 2025, though, is begin to show some pretty elite OBP skills, and if he can maintain that and get the power back a year removed from the broken thumb, well, the Reds have the guy they gave an overslot bonus to in the 1st round back in 2022 who repeatedly made Top 100 overall prospect lists in his first years as a pro. And even if that all only comes as a 1B who’s not the world’s greatest defender that’s an incredibly valuable thing, especially with the dearth of offense the franchise owns right now.

Chase Petty, RHP (23 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 6.39 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 102/58 K/BB in 112.2 IP with AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 13 ER in 6.0 IP with Cincinnati Reds

Pros: Three plus pitches, including a fastball that flirts with 100 mph and 60-grade slider and cutter

Cons: Lit up in first cups of MLB coffee, and struggled in AAA after being sent back down

Petty has long been on the radar of every scout in the game, a former 1st round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of high school (whom the Reds had eyes on drafting back then, too). He was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Sonny Gray the other way, and he’s pitched his way onto multiple Top 100 overall prospect lists since.

Of course, he’s also pitched his way back off those same lists, with much of his work in 2025 doing just that. He was shelled at the big league level, though that’s with the caveat that he’d just turned 22 years old when that went down. The stuff’s still there, he’s just struggled to blend it all together for long enough stretches to show he can be an effective big league starter. The hope is that the lumps he took in 2025 paired with a mostly healthy offseason for the first time in a while will send him into 2026 both ready and with something to prove.

Edwin Arroyo, SS (22 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .284/.345/.371 with 3 HR, 12 SB in 521 PA with AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League)

Pros: High contact, low-K approach at the plate (just 16.9% K% in ‘25); elite defensive shortstop with plus arm who can switch-hit with success from both sides of the plate; always young at every level he’s played

Cons: Power has dried up since his lost 2024 due to shoulder surgery – will it ever return?

We’ll forgive you if it seems as if we’ve been waiting on Edwin Arroyo forever. After all, it’s now 2026 and the Luis Castillo deal with Seattle was all the way back in 2022. Still, Arroyo played the first 84 games of his 2025 season as a 21 year old in the AA Southern League, and by season’s end he finished tied for 4th in the league in hits (with 132).

By most all accounts, he could step in defensively as Cincinnati’s everyday shortstop today and be pretty dang good at it. Imagine that paired with even a .320 OBP from a switch-hitter! That’s not at all out of the realm of expectations for what he’d be right this very minute!

There’s the shoulder issue we must address, of course. The injury and surgery cost him pretty much all of a lost 2024, and the power he showed in the lower minors simply wasn’t there with Chattanooga in 2025. Maybe that was a bit of rust, a bit of ebb and flow as he cut his strikeout rate significantly from where it was before, a bit of simply working his way all the way back – and, if so, there’ll be more of it in 2026 than in 2025. If it sapped a good bit of his swing for good, though, than he’ll have to reinvent himself.

Editor’s note: I’m still irrationally high on Arroyo, and think he rockets back up prospect lists with a really impressive 2026 with AAA Louisville (and will be in the Reds infield mix by season’s end). But don’t let that sway your vote as the farther down the list he falls this year the more smug I get to be when he’s atop the list next year!

Hector Rodriguez, OF (22 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .298/.357/.481 with 12 HR, 6 SB in 345 PA with AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .260/.304/.405 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 230 PA with AAA Louisville Bats (International League)

Pros: Plus hit tool featuring low strikeout rates (15.0% last year); potential plus power that’s emerging more in-games

Cons: Aggression at the plate sometimes leads to high chase rates; likely more a corner OF than a CF

Like Arroyo, Rodriguez has continued to be much younger than average at every level, and he technically won’t even turn 22 years old until March. So, we’re talking a 21 year old who spent a third of 2025 at the AAA level and held his own against much older competition here.

He had typically been a gap to gap hitter from the left side, though his power began to show through more in 2025. He does have a tendency to swing at just about everything, though his low K-rate shows just how well he is at actually making contact with even the bad pitches (though that often results in bad contact, too). If he refines that as he moves up – and as the pitchers get better and around the zone more – there’s a chance he’ll keep showing better results, too.

He still needs to show more at the AAA level, but if he does he’ll be in the Reds OF mix as soon as it happens.

Tyson Lewis, SS (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)

Pros: Statcast darling with elite exit velocity and power with his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and plus speed gives him a chance to stick at SS long term, though a move off the position seems likely

Cons: Struck out at an alarming 35.4% rate with Daytona (and at an alarming 29.1% rate overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams ‘regression’

Tools. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool there is. He hit a ball over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska prior to being a 2nd round pick (with an overslot bonus) by the Reds, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.

The upside here is obvious, as he’s got one of the loudest bats at any level. The swing and miss stuff, though, is something he’ll have to completely overhaul as he moves up the ladder, though getting out of the extremely pitcher-friendly confines of the FSL will perhaps help that some.

Steele Hall, SS (18 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL); 2025 Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama, once committed to powerhouse University of Tennessee before signing with the Reds for $5.75 million

Pros: Speed, and plenty of it; projectable power and potential five-tool player whose defense and arm look like they’ll play plenty well at short; just 17 years old when drafted after reclassifying a year early

Cons: It’s all still ‘projectable’ as, again, he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero professional PA to show for it

Hall reclassified to the class of 2025 despite originally being part of the class of 2026, and the Reds – who’d been scouting him already – thought he had the talent to eventually mature into a player who’d be in the mix for the #1 overall pick in 2026. So, when he was there at pick #9 in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him, knowing full well there was no rush for his development.

He’s drawn comparisons to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty damn lofty. Despite not having played a pro game and still being just 18, he’s ranked 79th in MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 overall prospects in the game. How quickly he can physically mature and adapt to breaking balls at the top levels remains to be seen, but the speed, glove, and arm all look like they’ll be big-league caliber in very short order.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...38/cincinnati-reds-top-prospects-rhett-lowder

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Rhett Lowder is the #3 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system!

The Cincinnati Reds made Rhett Lowder their 1st round pick out of Wake Forest University back in the summer of 2023. He didn’t make his professional debut until the 2024 season, yet by that season’s end he was slicing up eyeballs on the mound in Great American Ball Park.

His meteoric rise, polish, and early successes in the big leagues continue to fuel his hype, as 2025 was another story altogether. A forearm strain early in camp shut him down for months, and when he returned a subsequent oblique injury meant his 2025 was effectively sent to the woodchipper.

Still, he’s healthy now, and even managed to show the world as much as he returned to the mound for some work with the Peoria Javelinas in Arizona Fall League play. He’s also still so young (and with such little experience) that he still very much qualifies as a prospect! With that in mind – and with what we saw from him in 2024 still fresh enough – Lowder ran away with the voting for the #3 spot in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, earning some 65% of the tally despite a very crowded ballot.

Lowder will turn just 24 years of age in March, and he’ll enter camp in hot competition for a starting rotation spot at the big league level. If he comes out gassin’, well, he could earn that right out of the gate, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Reds slow-play him a bit given how few innings he actually tossed last season. A trip to AAA Louisville to build back up to begin the season is the most likely outcome here, barring other outside news, with a return to regularity (and a return to the Reds mid-season whenst needed) absolutely on the docket.

Congrats to Rhett, the 3rd ranked prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...32/rhett-lowder-cincinnati-reds-top-prospects

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Community Prospect Rankings: #5 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system

Hector Rodriguez emerged as the #4 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings in one of the closest votes in recent memory, claiming a slight plurality on a very talented, very crowded ballot.

Now, it’s time to figure out who will follow him on this year’s list!

Per usual, there will be a poll embedded at the bottom of the post where you can cast your vote, but if that’s stripped out you can also find the link to the ballot by clicking here (up until voting ends and I remove both access points).

Also, if there’s someone you think worthy of consideration at this point who has not yet been listed, let us know in the comment section below.

On to the candidates for spot #5!

Cam Collier, 3B/1B (21 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .279/.391/.384 with 4 HR, 21 2B in 396 PA split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .221/.368/.325 with 1 HR in 95 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Plus hit tool and his plate discipline is rapidly moving into plus category as well; plenty of power that we’re still hoping can return in-game after his thumb injury

Cons: Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and he’s likely already a 1B-only at this point

Collier busted his thumb in spring training in 2025, and the break (and recovery) caused him to miss the first two months of the season. A rehab stint came in Arizona next, and he eventually worked his way all the way up to AA Chattanooga…albeit with a shocking lack of power from the guy who swatted 20 homers for A+ Dayton in 2024, a mark that tied him for the Midwest League lead.

What Collier did do in 2025, though, is begin to show some pretty elite OBP skills, and if he can maintain that and get the power back a year removed from the broken thumb, well, the Reds have the guy they gave an overslot bonus to in the 1st round back in 2022 who repeatedly made Top 100 overall prospect lists in his first years as a pro. And even if that all only comes as a 1B who’s not the world’s greatest defender that’s an incredibly valuable thing, especially with the dearth of offense the franchise owns right now.

Chase Petty, RHP (23 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 6.39 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 102/58 K/BB in 112.2 IP with AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 13 ER in 6.0 IP with Cincinnati Reds

Pros: Three plus pitches, including a fastball that flirts with 100 mph and 60-grade slider and cutter

Cons: Lit up in first cups of MLB coffee, and struggled in AAA after being sent back down

Petty has long been on the radar of every scout in the game, a former 1st round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of high school (whom the Reds had eyes on drafting back then, too). He was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Sonny Gray the other way, and he’s pitched his way onto multiple Top 100 overall prospect lists since.

Of course, he’s also pitched his way back off those same lists, with much of his work in 2025 doing just that. He was shelled at the big league level, though that’s with the caveat that he’d just turned 22 years old when that went down. The stuff’s still there, he’s just struggled to blend it all together for long enough stretches to show he can be an effective big league starter. The hope is that the lumps he took in 2025 paired with a mostly healthy offseason for the first time in a while will send him into 2026 both ready and with something to prove.

Edwin Arroyo, SS (22 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .284/.345/.371 with 3 HR, 12 SB in 521 PA with AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League)

Pros: High contact, low-K approach at the plate (just 16.9% K% in ‘25); elite defensive shortstop with plus arm who can switch-hit with success from both sides of the plate; always young at every level he’s played

Cons: Power has dried up since his lost 2024 due to shoulder surgery – will it ever return?

We’ll forgive you if it seems as if we’ve been waiting on Edwin Arroyo forever. After all, it’s now 2026 and the Luis Castillo deal with Seattle was all the way back in 2022. Still, Arroyo played the first 84 games of his 2025 season as a 21 year old in the AA Southern League, and by season’s end he finished tied for 4th in the league in hits (with 132).

By most all accounts, he could step in defensively as Cincinnati’s everyday shortstop today and be pretty dang good at it. Imagine that paired with even a .320 OBP from a switch-hitter! That’s not at all out of the realm of expectations for what he’d be right this very minute!

There’s the shoulder issue we must address, of course. The injury and surgery cost him pretty much all of a lost 2024, and the power he showed in the lower minors simply wasn’t there with Chattanooga in 2025. Maybe that was a bit of rust, a bit of ebb and flow as he cut his strikeout rate significantly from where it was before, a bit of simply working his way all the way back – and, if so, there’ll be more of it in 2026 than in 2025. If it sapped a good bit of his swing for good, though, than he’ll have to reinvent himself.

Editor’s note: I’m still irrationally high on Arroyo, and think he rockets back up prospect lists with a really impressive 2026 with AAA Louisville (and will be in the Reds infield mix by season’s end). But don’t let that sway your vote as the farther down the list he falls this year the more smug I get to be when he’s atop the list next year!

Tyson Lewis, SS (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)

Pros: Statcast darling with elite exit velocity and power with his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and plus speed gives him a chance to stick at SS long term, though a move off the position seems likely

Cons: Struck out at an alarming 35.4% rate with Daytona (and at an alarming 29.1% rate overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams ‘regression’

Tools. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool there is. He hit a ball over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska prior to being a 2nd round pick (with an overslot bonus) by the Reds, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.

The upside here is obvious, as he’s got one of the loudest bats at any level. The swing and miss stuff, though, is something he’ll have to completely overhaul as he moves up the ladder, though getting out of the extremely pitcher-friendly confines of the FSL will perhaps help that some.

Steele Hall, SS (18 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL); 2025 Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama, once committed to powerhouse University of Tennessee before signing with the Reds for $5.75 million

Pros: Speed, and plenty of it; projectable power and potential five-tool player whose defense and arm look like they’ll play plenty well at short; just 17 years old when drafted after reclassifying a year early

Cons: It’s all still ‘projectable’ as, again, he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero professional PA to show for it

Hall reclassified to the class of 2025 despite originally being part of the class of 2026, and the Reds – who’d been scouting him already – thought he had the talent to eventually mature into a player who’d be in the mix for the #1 overall pick in 2026. So, when he was there at pick #9 in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him, knowing full well there was no rush for his development.

He’s drawn comparisons to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty damn lofty. Despite not having played a pro game and still being just 18, he’s ranked 79th in MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 overall prospects in the game. How quickly he can physically mature and adapt to breaking balls at the top levels remains to be seen, but the speed, glove, and arm all look like they’ll be big-league caliber in very short order.

Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida

Pros: 6’5” frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in

Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he’s a complete unknown

One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He’s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.

However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good ‘feel’ at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/community-prospect-ranking/49454/cincinnati-reds-prospect-rankings-vote

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Reds trade Gavin Lux to Tampa in three-team deal with Los Angeles Angels

We thought the deal to acquire Gavin Lux from the Los Angeles Dodgers this time last offseason was an odd one for the Cincinnati Reds. Lux, a former top prospect at short, had been moved off the position due to his lack of defensive prowess, and his bat had never yet lived up to the hopes he’d shown in a prolific minor league career.

The Reds tried to shoehorn him into some work in the corner outfield, to no avail. He didn’t fit at 3B with a lack of arm strength, and his glovework at 2B wasn’t anything to really write home about, either. As a result, he became pretty much relegated to work at DH – he’s a decent hitter, to his credit – albeit as one who provided about as little pop as possible.

All that, and he’s only playable at DH against right-handed pitchers, his platoon splits a disaster when facing southpaws.

It was enough to wonder whether the Reds would even tender him a contract for 2026 in this, his final year of arbitration before reaching free agency. He was due to make some $5 million, and while that’s not an abominable fee for a player of his ilk, it seemed a bit rich for a spendthrift Reds club that simply didn’t have a good enough roster to afford the luxury of a guy who never plays defense anywhere and only hits singles against RHP.

We continued to suggest that he was likely on the trade block. Late Thursday evening, he was no longer on the trade block, as he was actually dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team deal involving the Los Angeles Angels that netted the Reds left-handed reliever Brock Burke. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had the initial news, though we’re still waiting on all the details to emerge.

Three-way trade news: Tampa Bay, Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a deal that will send outfielder Josh Lowe to the Angels, infielder Gavin Lux and right-hander Chris Clark to the Rays and left-handed reliever Brock Burke to the Reds, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 16, 2026

On the Lux front, the Reds must feel confident that they’ve got enough DH aplomb in-house already. From the left-handed side, they’ll have one of JJ Bleday or Will Benson available each day. From the right, one of Sal Stewart or Spencer Steer will be off of 1B and in need of PA. They are currently carrying a trio of catchers on the 40-man roster, so Tyler Stephenson could even see some DH work on days when he’s not behind the plate, though I do doubt the Reds will actually end up carrying Ben Rortvedt once Opening Day rolls around.

One thing that does become obvious with no Lux, though, is that he won’t even be around to feign the role as ‘backup middle infielder’ now that Santiago Espinal is a free agent. Matt McLain, in theory, is the de facto backup shortstop to Elly De La Cruz, but if McLain is at short here and there, no Lux means there’s precious little on the current roster to man 2B on those days. Maybe that’ll end up being a non-roster guy like Garrett Hampson or Michael Chavis, as unappealing as that sounds. Maybe Sal Stewart really will get some chances to play 2B. Maybe they are higher on Edwin Arroyo as a utility infield option already.

We’ll find out about that quite soon, I’m sure.

In Burke, they’re gettin an established LHP who fired 61.2 IP of 3.36 ERA/4.16 FIP ball last year for the Angels, a guy who’ll make roughly $2.5 million in his own final year of arbitration before reaching free agency. It’s a bullpen bolstering move, one that brings in a guy who excels at getting both soft contact and groundballs on his offerings. You may recall that the Reds, at one point, had each of Brent Suter, Sam Moll, and Taylor Rogers as LHP options out of the bullpen last year, and despite bringing in Caleb Ferguson earlier this offseason were still sans Suter and Rogers. So, this helps solidify a need down there in a big, big way.

This move will save the Reds a bit of coin, unless late news comes out that they’ve had to send money in the deal. It also helps to balance the roster in a better way, even if it means they now have other pertinent decisions to make.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/hotstov...nati-reds-trade-tampa-brock-burke-los-angeles

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Hector Rodriguez is the #4 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system!

In the first somewhat surprise of the 2026 Community Prospect Rankings, outfielder Hector Rodriguez has claimed the #4 spot in one of the tightest votes I can remember. In fact, I let it run a few hours longer than originally intended since on three separate occasions this morning I checked the results only to find a different Cincinnati Reds prospect actually in the lead.

Here are the results when I officially called time, and you can see just how tightly packed this bunch was.

Hector is certainly well qualified here, even if he entered the 2025 season with significantly less fanfare than the rest of the names he was up against here. At just 21 years of age last season, he mashed AA Southern League pitching to the tune of .298/.357/.481 with 12 homers in 345 PA, and that earned him a promotion up to AAA Louisville for the remainder of the regular season. He hit just .260/.304/.405 with the Bats, but that was dented heavily by a .540 OPS in 17 September games in a year that saw him play in more games than he’d ever played in before.

He’s got a plus hit tool and elite plate coverage, his contact rate (and lack of strikeouts) absolutely his calling card. And with the Reds reluctant to add clear roadblocks to his path to the big league outfield, there’s a very real chance he hits his way right into the heart of the Cincinnati lineup early in 2026.

All that from the New York Mets for what remained of Tyler Naquin. We’ll take it!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...ector-rodriguez-cincinnati-reds-top-prospects

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Edwin Arroyo is the #5 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system!

Edwin Arroyo returned to the playing field for the 2025 season with AA Chattanooga after his 2024 season was lost to a shoulder injury (and subsequent surgery), and the results were more or less what you’d expect to see from a talented player with that kind of rust. On the whole, he hit .284/.345/.371 with only a trio dingers on the season, but it wasn’t until the 44th game he played (on June 11th) when he finally launched one.

From that point until season’s end, he hit .296/.356/.402 with an 8.0% walk rate and minuscule 13.0% strikeout rate, and all that came from a guy whose work defensively has long been lauded as MLB-ready at the most important spot on the diamond. That’s precisely the kind of player who found himself all over Top 100 overall prospect lists prior to his injury, and it’s worth pointing out that he just did all that in his age-21 season at the AA level.

There’s still a ton to love about Arroyo, and clearly you all thought the same. He takes home the #5 spot in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings because of it, as you voted him there with nearly 35% of the vote despite a crowded six-person ballot.

I doubt Arroyo ever morphs into a 20 homer kind of offensive player, but if he keeps that K-rate so tiny you can barely see it, he’s got a hit tool and patience at the plate that could see him hit .280 with a .340 OBP at the big league level. That paired with pretty elite defense at shortstop is a very, very valuable player.

It’s hard not to look at the current state of the big league Reds roster and not think they’ve got Arroyo firmly in mind in the near term, too. He’s got the glove to rotate in at both 2B and SS, and his ability to switch-hit means he can provide another lefty bat in the lineup when needed. Given that they a) cut Santiago Espinal to leave the short a middle-infield defender and b) traded away Gavin Lux to remove a lefty bat from the 2B mix, Arroyo hitting his way from AAA Louisville into the regular Reds rotation at some point in early 2026 sure does sound like a feasible proposition.

That’s your #5 prospect!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...rroyo-cincinnati-reds-top-prospects-lux-trade

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Community Prospect Rankings: #6 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system

Edwin Arroyo has a chance to fight his way onto the Cincinnati Reds roster at some point in 2026, and his elite defense likely means he’ll stick there for quite some time. That was good enough for him to take home the #5 spot in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, and now we move on to the voting for who’ll follow him!

Per usual, there will be a poll embedded at the bottom of the post where you can cast your vote, but if that’s stripped out you can also find the link to the ballot by clicking here (up until voting ends and I remove both access points).

Also, if there’s someone you think worthy of consideration at this point who has not yet been listed, let us know in the comment section below.

On to the candidates for spot #6!

Cam Collier, 3B/1B (21 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .279/.391/.384 with 4 HR, 21 2B in 396 PA split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League), and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .221/.368/.325 with 1 HR in 95 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Plus hit tool and his plate discipline is rapidly moving into plus category as well; plenty of power that we’re still hoping can return in-game after his thumb injury

Cons: Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and he’s likely already a 1B-only at this point

Collier busted his thumb in spring training in 2025, and the break (and recovery) caused him to miss the first two months of the season. A rehab stint came in Arizona next, and he eventually worked his way all the way up to AA Chattanooga…albeit with a shocking lack of power from the guy who swatted 20 homers for A+ Dayton in 2024, a mark that tied him for the Midwest League lead.

What Collier did do in 2025, though, is begin to show some pretty elite OBP skills, and if he can maintain that and get the power back a year removed from the broken thumb, well, the Reds have the guy they gave an overslot bonus to in the 1st round back in 2022 who repeatedly made Top 100 overall prospect lists in his first years as a pro. And even if that all only comes as a 1B who’s not the world’s greatest defender that’s an incredibly valuable thing, especially with the dearth of offense the franchise owns right now.

Chase Petty, RHP (23 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 6.39 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 102/58 K/BB in 112.2 IP with AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 13 ER in 6.0 IP with Cincinnati Reds

Pros: Three plus pitches, including a fastball that flirts with 100 mph and 60-grade slider and cutter

Cons: Lit up in first cups of MLB coffee, and struggled in AAA after being sent back down

Petty has long been on the radar of every scout in the game, a former 1st round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of high school (whom the Reds had eyes on drafting back then, too). He was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Sonny Gray the other way, and he’s pitched his way onto multiple Top 100 overall prospect lists since.

Of course, he’s also pitched his way back off those same lists, with much of his work in 2025 doing just that. He was shelled at the big league level, though that’s with the caveat that he’d just turned 22 years old when that went down. The stuff’s still there, he’s just struggled to blend it all together for long enough stretches to show he can be an effective big league starter. The hope is that the lumps he took in 2025 paired with a mostly healthy offseason for the first time in a while will send him into 2026 both ready and with something to prove.

Tyson Lewis, SS (20 years old)​

2025 at a glance: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)

Pros: Statcast darling with elite exit velocity and power with his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and plus speed gives him a chance to stick at SS long term, though a move off the position seems likely

Cons: Struck out at an alarming 35.4% rate with Daytona (and at an alarming 29.1% rate overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams ‘regression’

Tools. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool there is. He hit a ball over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska prior to being a 2nd round pick (with an overslot bonus) by the Reds, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.

The upside here is obvious, as he’s got one of the loudest bats at any level. The swing and miss stuff, though, is something he’ll have to completely overhaul as he moves up the ladder, though getting out of the extremely pitcher-friendly confines of the FSL will perhaps help that some.

Steele Hall, SS (18 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL); 2025 Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama, once committed to powerhouse University of Tennessee before signing with the Reds for $5.75 million

Pros: Speed, and plenty of it; projectable power and potential five-tool player whose defense and arm look like they’ll play plenty well at short; just 17 years old when drafted after reclassifying a year early

Cons: It’s all still ‘projectable’ as, again, he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero professional PA to show for it

Hall reclassified to the class of 2025 despite originally being part of the class of 2026, and the Reds – who’d been scouting him already – thought he had the talent to eventually mature into a player who’d be in the mix for the #1 overall pick in 2026. So, when he was there at pick #9 in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him, knowing full well there was no rush for his development.

He’s drawn comparisons to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty damn lofty. Despite not having played a pro game and still being just 18, he’s ranked 79th in MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 overall prospects in the game. How quickly he can physically mature and adapt to breaking balls at the top levels remains to be seen, but the speed, glove, and arm all look like they’ll be big-league caliber in very short order.

Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)​

2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida

Pros: 6’5” frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in

Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he’s a complete unknown

One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He’s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.

However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good ‘feel’ at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.

Jose Franco, RHP (25 years old)​

2025 at a glance: 3.11 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 118/54 K/BB in 110.0 IP split between AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League) and AAA Louisville Bats (International League)

Pros: Fastball that flirts with triple digits with ease

Cons: Secondary pitches need work, and that’s impacting his overall command (and ability to limit walks)

Franco turned 25 years old in November and earned a promotion to the 40-man roster of the Reds shortly thereafter due to his consistent performance across the upper levels of their farm system.

The Reds have a few hulks they’ve put on the mound in recent years, and Franco thoroughly qualifies. He’s listed at 6’2” and an oddly specific 257 lbs, and his size and frame allows him to tap into his excellent fastball velocity with ease. It’s the pitch he misses bats with the most, but how well he can differentiate his breaking pitches (and improve his changeup command) will determine whether or not he can a) get left-handed hitter out with aplomb and b) avoid ending up in the bullpen.

He’s been a late bloomer, in part due to injuries that cost him his entire 2023 season, and if he continues the path he’s been on since getting healthy there could be a whole lot more from him as early as 2026 for Cincinnati.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/communi...collier-chase-petty-cincinnati-reds-prospects

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

The Reds tried, and failed, to sign Elly De La Cruz to a record contract

It is impossible to start this conversation without highlighting that the agent for Cincinnati Reds superstar, Scott Boras, has spent an entire generation advising his best and brightest stars to eschew contract offers early in their careers in pursuit of more money down the line in free agency.

We witnessed that just last winter with Juan Soto’s record-breaking contract with the New York Mets. Boras’ advice to Soto to not agree to a gigantic contract extension with the Washington Nationals – his first club – was the onus to why Soto was eventually dealt away by the Nats and the San Diego Padres, since they all knew he’d eventually be a free agent anyway. Boras has also helped usher the likes of Gerrit Cole, Bryce Harper, Corey Seager, and other tip-top players in similar ways, as those players have eventually become free agents and shaped the market in monumental ways.

Back to Elly, who appears to be the latest advisee of Boras to take that same route. As Redsfest opened on Friday in Cincinnati, Nick Krall spoke with the media about attempting to sign Elly long term, telling C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic that “we made Elly an offer that would’ve made him the highest-paid Red ever.”

“I let my agent take care of all of that,” Elly later added when prompted.

2026. 2027. 2028. 2029. Those are now the seasons that the Cincinnati Reds will have Elly under team control, with the obvious caveat there being when they seriously begin to consider dealing him for a franchise-altering return since, y’know, they don’t have him under contract on a record deal beyond that.

It’s a sobering realization, but it can’t be considered at all surprising. This is simply what Boras does with his star clients, and the end result has pumped tens, hundreds of additional millions into the game for players all over. If Elly accepted, say, a contract that guaranteed him $28, $30 million through 2035 to remain a Red, that would certainly set him and his family up for the rest of his life. But if he balked at that, continued to do his thing until free agency, and then let all 30 teams bid on his services at that juncture? He’ll get $38, $40, maybe $45 million a year to do his thing – and that sets a bar that future free agents will demand to clear, too.

Boras gets paid more that way too, of course. It’s a built-in system for him to encourage players to bet on themselves and set themselves – and all players that come behind them – up to maximize their earning power. It’s really hard to blame him for that idea, either, even if this time it may come at the expense of getting to watch the most electric player the Reds have had in a generation(s) wear a different jersey at some point in the not-too-distant future.

With eyes back on the present, though, it’s hard not to think this should be infinite fuel for the Reds to push a whole lot more chips in right now. They aren’t going to have Elly as the battleship in their lineup beyond 2029, it wouldn’t seem, a timeline that conveniently lines up with that of ace Hunter Greene (who, for the sake of highlighting nuance here, will be a Red until that point because he signed an early contract extension). Those two kinds of stars simply don’t come around often, and since you now know you won’t have hundreds of millions committed to them long-term, perhaps you roll some of that money into supporting those two with better players while you do have them.

That part remains to be seen, of course. Let’s just hope the abdication of effort by the front office at the 2023 trade deadline and the lackluster additions they brought in during last year’s playoff push aren’t what this club considers ‘that.’

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/latest-...incinnati-reds-contract-extension-scott-boras