Yunior Marté Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Yunior Marté, who was designated for assignment by the Reds earlier this week, has cleared waivers. He has informed the club he will exercise his right to elect free agency. Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie’s Chalkboard passed along the update.
Marté, 31, signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati in the offseason. He just got a very brief look in the majors. He was selected to the roster on Friday and appeared in that night’s game, allowing four earned runs in a third of an inning. He was designated for assignment on Monday.
Though Marté’s performance didn’t help, the quick hook was likely related to the club’s roster situation. Both Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson hit the injured list in quick succession recently. Chase Burns had a start pushed back due to illness, forcing the club to improvise a bullpen game. As the Reds have tried to dance around those situations, Marté, Lyon Richardson and Brandon Leibrandt all got added to the roster but then designated for assignment after one appearance.
Prior to getting called up, Marté was with Triple-A Louisville. In 19 1/3 innings for that club, he allowed 5.12 earned runs per nine. That’s obviously not a good number but there was some more intrigue under the hood, as his .377 batting average on balls in play and 66% strand rate were both unfortunate numbers. His 12.6% walk rate was too high but he was striking out 27.4% of batters faced and inducing grounders on 50% of balls in play.
In situations like this, it’s common for the player to return to his previous club on a new deal. Perhaps Marté will re-sign with the Reds in the coming days but he’ll have a chance to explore other opportunities. He has a 5.94 ERA in 113 2/3 major league innings with the Giants, Phillies and now Reds. He spent last year in Japan, posting a 1.95 ERA for the Chunichi Dragons, though with a lot of help from a .213 BABIP. His four-seamer and sinker average in the upper-90s. His main secondary pitch is a mid-80s slider.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV, Imagn Images
Reds Option TJ Friedl, Recall Noelvi Marté
The Reds announced that outfielder TJ Friedl was optioned to Triple-A Louisville after last night’s game. Fellow outfielder Noelvi Marté has been recalled to take Friedl’s place on the active roster.
It’s the first optional assignment in almost four years for Friedl. The Reds recalled him from the minors in August of 2022. He has been in the majors or on the injured list since then. He established himself as an above-average big leaguer in 2023. He got into 138 games for the Reds, hit 18 home runs and stole 27 bases. He slashed .279/.352/.467 for a 117 wRC+. When combined with his strong defense, mostly in center field, FanGraphs credited him with 4.1 wins above replacement on the year.
2024 was a bit of a step back. Friedl made multiple trips to the injured list and only appeared in 85 games. When on the field, he produced a subpar .226/.310/.380 line and 90 wRC+, though that was held back by an unfortunate .229 batting average on balls in play. He bounced back in 2025 with a .261/.364/.378 line and 109 wRC+ in 152 games. His defensive metrics weren’t quite as strong but he was still worth 2.9 fWAR that year.
2026 has been a disaster so far. He has a .179/.259/.256 line and 44 wRC+. That may be partially due to a low BABIP of .230 but Friedl has regressed in other areas. His 23.6% strikeout rate is close to league average but is easily the worst of his career, as he has usually been in the 15 to 17% range. His 7.3% walk rate is also a personal worst and more than four ticks below last year’s 7.3% clip. He only has two home runs with more than a third of the season in the books.
The Reds have decided they’ve seen enough and have sent him to the minors, ideally for a reset that gets him back on track. If he can find his groove again or someone else on the roster gets injured, he could be recalled to the majors in the future.
Friedl crossed three years of service time last year and qualified for arbitration. The Reds are paying him $3.8MM this year. He has already crossed the four-year mark in terms of service here in 2026 and could be retained via arbitration for 2027 and 2028, though he would be a non-tender candidate after this season if he continues struggling.
Marté’s arc has been somewhat similar to that of Friedl. He had an encouraging debut in 2023, slashing .316/.366/.456 in 35 games. He couldn’t carry that over into 2024, as he hit .210/.248/.301. He had a decent 2025 showing, with a .263/.300/.448 line. He started 2026 with a brutal .138/.194/.138 line in 11 games and got sent down to the farm.
Since then, he has been killing the ball in Triple-A. He has eight home runs and a .369/.409/.575 line for the Bats. His .395 BABIP isn’t sustainable but he is only striking out at a 14.8% clip, less than half of the 32.3% pace he had in the majors earlier this year. Cincinnati will hope that he can bring some of that up to the show with him.
It’s worth checking in on Marté’s service time. He came into 2026 with his service clock at one year and 139 days. Based on the previous cutoffs, he had a really good chance to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two guy after 2026 if he got to 2.139. But since he spent close to two months on optional assignment, that’s no longer the case.
But he has a chance to keep his previous pace for free agency. When he was optioned, his service clock was at 1.158, which is 14 days shy of the two-year mark. If he Reds keep him up for at least two weeks, he will hit that line, meaning free agency after 2030 will still be possible for him.
Frield has been sharing center field with Blake Dunn and Dane Myers. Marté was mostly a right fielder last year but he has been seeing a decent amount of center field time in the minors, so perhaps he will be a factor up the middle. JJ Bleday should have the left field job locked down since he is hitting .291/.387/.632. Spencer Steer is hitting .277/.351/.461 but has been splitting his time between the outfield corners, first base and second base. Will Benson is also in the mix but he is hitting .188/.324/.353 on the year.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
Reds Designate Brandon Leibrandt, Lyon Richardson For Assignment
The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Zach McCambley and recalled fellow righty Luis Mey. In corresponding moves, lefty Brandon Leibrandt and righty Lyon Richardson have been designated for assignment.
The Reds have been making frequent roster moves on the pitching side in recent days, as they try to cover for some injuries. On Friday, Graham Ashcraft hit the 60-day injured list with a sprained UCL, with the club selecting Yunior Marté to replace him. The next day, Pierce Johnson hit the IL with elbow inflammation and the club selected Richardson to the roster in his place, designating Kyle Nicolas for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Yesterday, the club selected Leibrandt and designated Marté for assignment.
Chase Burns was supposed to start yesterday’s game but was scratched due to illness. He hasn’t been placed on the IL and may start Wednesday’s game but the Reds had to improvise yesterday. Richardson tossed the first inning, allowing four runs. Caleb Ferguson tossed two scoreless, followed by Leibrandt going six, allowing five runs in a game the Reds dropped to the Royals 9-2. Richardson and Leibrandt have now been quickly bumped into DFA limbo to get fresh arms into the mix.
Leibrandt, 33, now has 21 1/3 innings of major league experience in scattered fashion. He threw nine innings over five appearances for the Marlins in 2020, then logged 6 1/3 for the 2024 Reds, followed by yesterday’s six. He has a 5.91 earned run average in that time. He has a 4.14 ERA in 385 Triple-A innings and has also bounced to independent ball and the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan.
Richardson, 26, was a second-round pick of the Reds back in 2018. He mostly worked as a starter on his way up the minor league ladder but struggled in that role upon reaching Triple-A. In 2025, he was in a primary relief role with mixed results. He tossed 32 Triple-A innings with a 4.22 ERA. His 23.5% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate were both around average while his 50% strikeout rate was quite strong. In 37 2/3 innings in the majors, he got ground balls at a similar clip but his 17.4% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate were both subpar.
He exhausted his final option year in 2025 and the Reds were able to outright him off the roster in the offseason. He began this year as non-roster depth, tossing 30 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.75 ERA. His 10.7% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 26% of opponents while inducing grounders on 48.7% of balls in play. The poor ERA was partially due to an unfortunate 52.5% strand rate, which is why his 3.62 FIP painted a more flattering picture.
That got him back up to the majors but only for one subpar outing as an emergency opener. He’ll likely end up back on the waiver wire. Since he just cleared in January, he could clear again, unless a club snakebit by injuries takes a flier on him. Since he has already been outrighted once in his career, he would now have the right to elect free agency if he is outrighted again in the coming days.
McCambley, 27, has spent most of his career in the Marlins organization until recently. The Phillies took him in the Rule 5 draft but he was returned to the Marlins at the end of spring training. He was flipped to the Reds last month in exchange for outfielder Rece Hinds.
His Triple-A numbers have been encouraging apart from a lack of control. Between the Marlins and Reds this year, he has thrown 30 1/3 innings at the top minor league level with a 2.37 ERA. He has given a free pass to 14.9% of opponents but has struck out 30.6% of batters faced while inducing grounders on 53.4% of balls in play. The ERA is nice but he has benefitted from a .254 batting average on balls in play and 86.6% strand rate, so his 4.54 FIP is almost double his ERA. It’s been an unusual few months in terms of transactions but he is now finally in position to make his major league debut.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene, Imagn Images
Reds Place Elly De La Cruz On Injured List, Promote Edwin Arroyo
2:12pm: Francona said De La Cruz will probably miss two to four weeks, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
11:36am: The Reds announced Monday that they’ve placed star shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring and recalled top infield prospect Edwin Arroyo from Triple-A Louisville for his major league debut. Cincinnati also selected the contract of lefty Brandon Leibrandt and designated right-hander Yunior Marté for assignment in a corresponding move. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reported that the Reds would place De La Cruz on the IL and promote Arroyo shortly before the formal team announcement.
De La Cruz suffered his hamstring injury in Sunday’s game. Upon driving a ball into the right-center field gap for what looked like an easy double — if not a triple, given his speed — he instead pulled up at first base in obvious pain (video link). A quick visit from the training staff concluded with an early exit from the game. He subsequently underwent an MRI that revealed the strain. Cincinnati has not yet provided a possible timeline for his potential return or revealed the grade of hamstring strain with which De La Cruz has been diagnosed. Manager Terry Francona will likely provide more details prior to tonight’s game against the visiting Royals.
An injury to the 24-year-old De La Cruz is about as impactful an injury absence as possible for Cincinnati. The switch-hitting dynamo was putting together perhaps the best season of his exciting young career, delivering a .280/.346/.509 slash (134 wRC+) with a dozen homers, 13 doubles (14, were it not for this injury), five triples and 10 steals. He’s hitting for power at the highest rate of his career, and after struggling immensely from the right-handed batter’s box through the first three seasons of his career, De La Cruz was having a breakout showing in that regard as well (.299/.342/.642 in 73 plate appearances versus southpaws).
If there’s a silver lining for Reds fans, it’s that the De La Cruz injury serves as a catalyst for the promotion of Arroyo — one of the hottest-hitting prospects in all of Minor League Baseball at the moment. A fellow switch-hitter, Arroyo is just 22 years old but was laying waste to Triple-A pitching with a .323/.383/.562 batting line through an even 250 plate appearances. He’s homered 11 times and added nine doubles, five triples and nine steals. He’s been hitting at a particularly absurd level over the past month: .368/.406/.705.
Originally drafted by the Mariners with the No. 48 overall pick back in 2021, Arroyo was traded to the Reds as part of the deal sending Luis Castillo back to Seattle. He was a consensus top-100 prospect at the time. His stock dipped in subsequent seasons, in no small part due to a shoulder injury that required surgery and wiped out his entire 2024 season. However, Arroyo’s torrid 2026 output has thrust him onto the tail end of the top-100 lists at MLB.com and Baseball America. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel listed him as the top riser in Cincinnati’s system just this morning, noting that Arroyo’s power looks to be back in full force after an understandable dip last year in the return from that shoulder operation. Arroyo hit just three long balls in 120 games last year.
Arroyo has primarily been a shortstop in his professional career, but he’s played some second base and third base in recent seasons as well — likely in recognition that shortstop isn’t going to be opening up in Cincinnati anytime soon, so long as De La Cruz remains healthy. He’ll step into De La Cruz’s shortstop spot for the time being, but if Arroyo hits the ground running, it’s not at all out of the question that he could parlay this initial call to the majors into a more prominent role at third base and/or second base once De La Cruz returns. Neither third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes nor second baseman Matt McLain has hit at all this season — and that’s egregiously true in the case of the former (.142/.195/.225 in 128 plate appearances). Hayes is currently on the injured list a disk injury in his back, continuing a long history of back ailments.
The 33-year-old Leibrandt is the son of former big league pitcher Charlie Leibrandt. He’s pitched in parts of two minor league seasons: the 2020 campaign with Miami and the 2024 season with Cincinnati. He’s allowed nine runs in 15 1/3 major league frames. The younger Leibrandt has been tagged for a 5.23 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts this season, though a disproportionate amount of the damage against him came in his most recent start. Leibrandt logged a solid enough 4.29 ERA through his first 10 starts before being tattooed for six runs in just 1 1/3 innings against the Twins’ Triple-A club last time out.
Injuries have thinned out both the Cincinnati bullpen and rotation. The Reds have Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson all on the injured list. Depth starters like Chase Petty, Julian Aguiar and Jose Franco have pitched poorly in Triple-A. The Reds already brought veteran Chris Paddack aboard following his release in Miami; he’s allowed a total of nine runs with eight strikeouts against seven walks across a trio of five-inning starts. In the bullpen, relievers Graham Ashcraft, Emilio Pagan and Pierce Johnson are on the injured list; Ashcraft was recently placed directly on the 60-day IL due to a UCL sprain.
Marté, 31, was just called up last Friday when Ashcraft hit the IL. The journeyman right-hander appeared in one game, faced six batters and allowed five of them to reach. He wound up being charged with four runs in one-third of an inning. Marté has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, totaling 113 2/3 innings with a 5.94 ERA. He throws hard and can miss bats but has regularly shown shaky command while struggling to limit damage against left-handed hitters in particular. He’ll be traded, placed on waivers or released within the next five days.
Elly De La Cruz To Undergo MRI On Right Hamstring
Elly De La Cruz left the Reds’ 6-4 win over the Braves today due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness. The star shortstop cracked a line drive to the gap in right-center field during the fifth inning, yet held up at first base in obvious discomfort, and then left the game after a visit from team trainers.
Manager Terry Francona told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan) that De La Cruz will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. De La Cruz believes he avoided a serious injury, telling the media via a translator that “when I was making the turn for first, I felt tightness in my hamstring and immediately I decide to stop because I felt like ‘if I keep going, this can get worse.’ ”
The Reds host the Royals for a three-game series that begins on Monday, and then have an off-day on Thursday. If the MRI results don’t show anything serious but De La Cruz is still feeling sore, the Reds could opt to play with a short bench during the Kansas City series in the hopes that four days off would allow De La Cruz to be ready for Friday’s game. Dane Myers‘ status is also a factor since the outfielder has missed the last two games due to illness, so if Myers isn’t feeling better by tomorrow, Cincinnati likely wouldn’t want to play with two players unavailable.
Through 58 games, De La Cruz is on pace for what would be the best yet of his four Major League seasons. De La Cruz had two singles, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base in his abbreviated outing today, and he is now hitting .280/.346/.509 with 12 homers over 257 plate appearances. Only six qualified hitters in baseball have more than De La Cruz’s 2.5 fWAR, as he has matched his offensive production with improved glovework at shortstop.
Losing De La Cruz for even a 10-day IL stint would be a tough blow to a top-heavy Reds lineup. Outsized contributions from De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and (in smaller sample sizes) Nathaniel Lowe and JJ Bleday have helped cover for underwhelming starts from several other Cincinnati batters, not to mention shaky pitching from an injury-ravaged rotation and bullpen.
Matt McLain would likely take over at shortstop in the event of a De La Cruz injury, and highly-touted prospect Edwin Arroyo is on the 40-man roster and could be called up to provide infield depth. Between McLain’s struggles at the plate and Ke’Bryan Hayes‘ injury absence, the Reds’ recent lineups have seen Stewart and Eugenio Suarez split the third base and DH at-bats, Spencer Steer has been getting more time at second base, and the hot-hitting Lowe has gotten an increase in playing time at first base.
Reds Designate Kyle Nicolas For Assignment, Select Lyon Richardson
The Reds are shuffling the bullpen. Right-hander Pierce Johnson is headed to the injured list with right elbow inflammation, the club announced. Righty Lyon Richardson is returning to the big-league club to take his spot. To open up room on the 40-man for Richardson, Cincinnati designated right-hander Kyle Nicolas for assignment.
Nicolas joined the organization via trade from the Pirates in March. Outfielder Tyler Callihan went to Pittsburgh in the deal. Nicolas didn’t break camp with the club, but made his team debut in early April. He was knocked around for seven earned runs over seven appearances. The righty piled up 13 walks over 7 1/3 frames.
The 27-year-old Nicolas struggled in his first outing with the Reds. He ceded three earned runs in mop-up duty and had to be relieved by a position player. Nicolas settled in for four scoreless appearances after the ugly debut. He was tagged for four earned runs in a late April outing against the Rays and was optioned back to Triple-A shortly after.
Throwing strikes has been the main issue for Nicolas. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons in the majors and has yet to post a sub-10% walk rate. The righty has an underwhelming 59.5% strike rate across 93 MLB outings. Nicolas posted a career-worst 38.4% zone rate in his brief stint with the Reds.
After two short stretches with the Reds in 2023 and 2024, Richardson was a regular in the bullpen last season. He pitched to a 4.54 ERA across 37 appearances. The Reds used Richardson in a variety of roles, including occasional late-inning appearances. He picked up three holds, but also covered more than an inning on 14 occasions.
Richardson came up as a starter, and his first four games with the Reds were starts. He struggled to an 8.64 ERA as a rookie in 2023. Richardson began transitioning to a relief role in 2024. He pitched out of the bullpen six times at Triple-A. His lone appearance with the Reds that season came as a reliever. Richardson has been almost exclusively used out of the bullpen since then.
Cincinnati added Johnson on a one-year, $6.5MM deal in January. He delivered a 3.27 ERA across 24 appearances. Johnson picked up four holds and a save. The 35-year-old was removed during an outing against the Mets on Tuesday. He allowed a hit and recorded two outs before getting pulled.
Johnson is the latest high-leverage reliever to go down for the Reds. The club lost closer Emilio Pagan to a significant hamstring strain in early May. He’s about three weeks into his initial four-to-eight week recovery timeline. Right-hander Graham Ashcraft went to the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain on Friday. He hasn’t been ruled out for the season, but he’ll be sidelined for at least a couple of months.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene of the Enquirer via Imagn Images
Which Impending Free Agent Bats Are Actually Improving Their Stock?
In case you weren't aware, the upcoming offseason's free agent class is ... well, it's... not exactly the stronge-- ok, it's not good. It's a weak class. Despite being headlined by a two-time Cy Young winner, that was always expected to be the case. The fact that said Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, is currently out following surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow only further dampens the group's overall earning power.
We're due for an update on our Free Agent Power Rankings. That'll likely be published at some point next week. Our power rankings are always based on total earning power rather than individual impact. If you're a 38-year-old ace, you probably won't rank as highly as a 28-year-old regular at third base, because that 28-year-old is going to have access to a much longer (and thus more lucrative overall) contract than said 38-year-old. Sorry Chris Sale, them's the breaks.
That said, it's been a brutal year for most of the names at the top of an already underwhelming free agent class -- pitchers and hitters alike. Skubal, as mentioned, had elbow surgery. He'll be back -- sooner than originally anticipated, by all accounts -- but he's not going to take home a third straight Cy Young Award. Bo Bichette can opt out of his Mets contract ... but he's hitting .225/.273/.317. Trevor Rogers missed time on the injured list and has a nearly 7.00 ERA through nine starts. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been terrific in May, but that only offsets an awful April. Tatsuya Imai came to MLB with plenty of hype and an opt-out-laden contract that potentially set him up to reenter free agency and cash in on a mega-deal next winter -- at least until he posted a 6.17 ERA through his first six MLB starts.
Any and all of these players have time to turn things around, and while the headline of this particular post is admittedly a bit hyperbolic, it's also true that most of the market's top bats aren't doing much to elevate their case. A big four months would make Chisholm's April a distant memory, but we're not there yet. Daulton Varsho has been better than average at the plate but hasn't shown the same power he did last year. Bichette's start has been dismal. Taylor Ward has followed up his 36-homer 2025 season by hitting two round-trippers through the first third of the 2026 season.
We'll cover a lot of the bigger names on the forthcoming update to our Power Rankings, but here's a look at some bats who probably won't make the list but are nonetheless trending in a positive direction. (Note that I'll be excluding some smaller-sample breakouts/resurgences for this list; Jorge Mateo's .324/.370/.471 slash looks great, but it's 73 plate appearances being propped up by a silly .455 BABIP and combined with a 30% strikeout rate. Let's not get too carried away.)
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Pirates
Pittsburgh's acquisition of Lowe in the three-team trade that sent Mike Burrows to Houston and Jacob Melton to Tampa Bay looks like one of the best moves of the offseason. The 31-year-old (32 in July) is in the midst of arguably the best season of his career. Lowe has belted 14 home runs in only 51 games. His 11.2% walk rate is the second-highest of his career, while his 23.7% strikeout rate is the second-lowest.
Not only are those excellent marks both relative to his career levels and the rest of the league, they both put a halt to some worrying trends. Lowe has always struck out a fair bit, but his 2022 mark of 22.9% looked like it might be a step in the right direction. Instead, it climbed to 27% from 2023-25 and did so while his walk rate plummeted to a career-worst 6.9% last year. Lowe still chases a bit too much, but he's made big gains on his in-zone contact rate and done so without sacrificing much in the way of hard-hit balls.
Durability will be key for Lowe, who played in only 415 of 648 possible games from 2022-25 (64%). However, he's currently on pace to match his career-high 39 home runs, set back in 2021, and he's doing so with the best strikeout-to-walk profile of his career.
If Lowe actually stays healthy and flirts with 40 homers, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's not in the top 10 on our list. But even if his power output cools down, he's done a nice job improving his stock thus far.
The open market in modern baseball rarely rewards pure second basemen, which is what Lowe is at this point. He's played exactly three innings of outfield since the 2021 season wrapped, and he has all of 155 career innings at first base. It also rarely compensates 32-year-olds on long-term deals. Lowe has an uphill battle based on position and age, but he's still angling for a nice multi-year deal.
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Reds Place Graham Ashcraft On 60-Day IL With UCL Sprain
The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Yunior Marté. To open spots on the active and 40-man rosters, right-hander Graham Ashcraft has been placed directly onto the 60-day injured list with a sprain in his ulnar collateral ligament.
The Ashcraft news is both devastating and surprising. He last appeared for the Reds on Monday and there wasn’t any indication anything was amiss. He recorded two strikeouts and a groundout in a scoreless inning, with his velocity in line with previous outings.
Presumably, some discomfort popped up in between that outing and today and testing found a sprain of Ashcraft’s UCL. The team hasn’t announced any information but the fact that Ashcraft has been placed directly on the 60-day IL suggests they don’t expect him back anytime soon.
Not all UCL sprains lead to surgery. In recent years, guys like Mason Miller and Grant Holmes have suffered UCL sprains and managed to come back without surgery, but even those situations required a few months of recovery. Miller’s diagnosis was in May of 2023 and he was back on the mound in September of that same year. Holmes suffered his sprain in July of last year but was healthy for spring training here in 2026.
Perhaps that means Ashcraft could return later this year in a best-case scenario. But the worst-case scenario is Tommy John surgery, which usually comes with a recovery timeline of 14 months or more. That would wipe out the rest of his season and most of his 2027 campaign as well.
Either way, it’s another blow to the Cincinnati bullpen. The Reds are already without closer Emilio Pagán, who hit the IL earlier this month with a hamstring strain. That only made Ashcraft’s contributions more important. Ashcraft picked up 23 holds for the Reds last year, posting a 3.99 earned run average. His 22.5% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate were around average but his 55.9% ground ball rate was quite strong.
Here in 2026, he has added a save and another ten holds. His walk rate has ticked up to 14.7% but his strikeout rate also jumped, getting to 29.4%. His ground ball rate has held fairly steady at 54.1%. The end result is a slightly better ERA of 3.33.
With both Pagán and Ashcraft on the IL, the Reds will have to rely on guys like Tony Santillan, Brock Burke and Pierce Johnson for leverage work. Santillan has a decent track record but is not having a good season, with a 5.57 ERA so far. Burke has a 3.60 ERA but is walking a tightrope, having given free passes to 14.3% of opponents. Johnson’s 3.27 ERA is decent but he’s gotten some help from a .262 batting average on balls in play and 83.3% strand rate.
Marté, 31, returns to the big leagues for the first time in a couple of years. He got some time with the Giants and Phillies from 2022 to 2024, posting a 5.64 ERA over 113 1/3 innings. He spent 2025 in Japan, pitching for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball, posting a 1.95 ERA for that club.
He returned to North America this past offseason by signing a minor league deal with the Reds. He has thrown 19 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year with a 5.12 ERA. His 50% ground ball rate and 27.4% strikeout rate are good but he has walked 12.6% of batters faced and been vulnerable to the long ball, with an 18.8% home run to fly ball ratio. For now, he’ll add a fresh arm to the bullpen. If the Reds want to make a change in the future, Marté is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Doster, Imagn Images
Reds Activate Caleb Ferguson From 15-Day IL, Recall Zach Maxwell
The Reds have activated reliever Caleb Ferguson from the 15-day injured list, according to Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie’s Chalkboard. Zach Maxwell is being recalled from Triple-A. Connor Phillips and Jose Franco are being optioned in corresponding moves.
Ferguson signed with the Reds on a one-year, $4.5MM deal back in December. He has not yet appeared in 2026, instead beginning the year on the IL with an oblique muscle strain. That was Ferguson’s first IL placement since 2022, so the Reds are likely confident he can return as the durable groundball specialist that he was from 2023-25.
Ferguson had a 3.85 ERA in an even 180 innings in that span, which he split between five teams. His ERA peaked at 4.64 in 2024, although that came with a .340 opponents’ average on balls in play, suggesting Ferguson was due for regression. Indeed, Ferguson lowered his ERA to 3.58 in 2025, albeit with interesting trends in his peripherals. After striking out 26.9% of opponents in 2024, that fell to 18.9% in 2025, well below the league average. On the flip side, Ferguson upped his groundball rate to 48.7% and did very well at keeping the ball in the yard, allowing just two long balls in 65 1/3 innings.
Ferguson’s velocity didn’t change all that much from 2024-25. That said, the lefty decreased his four-seam usage by 11.7% in favor of his sinker, which Ferguson now used 23.2% of the time. That could partly explain the uptick in groundballs, although the drop in strikeouts was more puzzling given Ferguson’s similar velocity to 2024. Coming off his injury, the Reds can probably expect an ERA in the mid- to upper-3.00’s and an above-average groundball rate from Ferguson, ideally with some recovery of the strikeouts. That would be a huge boost to a bullpen whose 4.98 ERA is third-worst in the Majors, behind only the Angels and Astros.
Maxwell returns from Triple-A Louisville after last appearing in the Majors on May 1st. That wasn’t a good day for him, as Maxwell allowed four earned runs on two homers in a single frame of work. A sixth-round draft pick by Cincy in 2022, Maxwell has only thrown 11 innings in the Majors since debuting last year. He has a 7.36 ERA in that small sample. Maxwell’s minor league work is somewhat more promising. He had a 4.17 ERA in 49 2/3 Triple-A innings last year, which he’s decreased to 3.50 so far in 2026. That said, Maxwell has walked over 14% of hitters since reaching the upper minors in 2024.
The promotion is less about rewarding Maxwell and more about giving Phillips a reset at Triple-A. Manager Terry Francona said of Phillips: “He’s just not throwing enough strikes… He can spin it. But until he starts throwing the ball where he wants to, it can be a struggle.” That’s an accurate assessment of Phillips’ performance in 2026. Despite possessing 95th-percentile fastball velocity, Phillips has failed to capitalize by throwing strikes. His 20.5% walk rate is second-worst among qualified relievers this year and has played a big role in the righty’s 5.06 ERA.
Phillips is only 25 and has plenty of club control left, so he’ll surely get more chances in the future. The same is true of Franco, who now joins Phillips at Triple-A. Franco made the big league club out of spring training but has a 4.30 ERA in 14 2/3 innings so far. He has a troubling 16.4% walk rate in that small sample, although Franco was about five points lower in the upper minors last year. He’ll benefit from working on his control at Triple-A and could feasibly return to the Majors when fresh arms are needed.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Reds Activate Eugenio Suarez, Place Ke’Bryan Hayes On 10-Day IL
The Reds placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list yesterday, while also activating third baseman Eugenio Suarez from the 10-day IL. Suarez returns after missing a month due to an oblique strain, while Hayes (whose placement is retroactive to May 21) is dealing with a lumbar bulging disc.
Back problems have been a recurring issue for Hayes over the years, and Cincinnati manager Terry Francona told The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans and other reporters that Hayes has been bothered by a bad back at various points this season. “I think the spasming has gotten to the point where it’s kind of getting in the way,” Francona said, so the decision was made to let Hayes fully recover during an IL stint.
Beyond just getting healthy, Francona suggested that Hayes’ rehab process will include a stint working on his offensive mechanics at the Reds’ Spring Training facility in Arizona. The Reds were hoping that Hayes might find some untapped hitting potential after he was acquired from the Pirates at last year’s trade deadline, but whatever changes Hayes has made with his new team haven’t worked. Never known for his offense even at the best of times, Hayes’ bat has completely cratered this year, as he has hit only .142/.195/.225 over 128 plate appearances.
While Hayes remains one of baseball’s top defensive third basemen, excellent glovework only goes so far when a player has a 12 wRC+ — the lowest of any player in baseball with at least 120 PA. Sal Stewart had already started to receive some starts at third base even before Hayes went on the IL, and Stewart will likely get the majority of time at the hot corner while Suarez may make the odd start but is more likely to again factor heavily in the DH mix.
Cincinnati’s struggling offense will naturally get a boost from inserting Suarez in Hayes’ place, even if Suarez himself has yet to get going in 2026. After signing a one-year, $15MM free agent deal this past winter, Suarez’s encore in a Reds uniform has thus far resulted in three homers and a .231/.300/.363 slash line over an even 100 PA before the oblique strain sent the veteran to the injured list.