The Reds are acquiring outfielder Dane Myers from the Marlins in exchange for outfield prospect Ethan O’Donnell. The Reds are designating right-hander Lyon Richardson for assignment in a corresponding move, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Marlins’ 40-man roster now stands at 39, which opens a spot for the recently-signed Pete Fairbanks. The Marlins have officially announced the trade.
The 29-year-old Myers, a Ballengee Group client, was drafted by the Tigers as a pitcher in 2017. He was converted to a hitter in 2019 and spent a few more seasons in the Tigers’ system before the Marlins selected him in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He made his major-league debut with Miami in July 2023. In 511 plate appearances over 172 games from 2023-25, Myers has batted .245/.299/.354 with a 25.8% strikeout rate against a 6.5% walk rate while providing serviceable outfield defense. However, that has come with a fair amount of injuries. He missed two months with a left ankle fracture in 2024. This year, he made two separate trips to the injured list for right oblique strains and finished the year on the IL with a right knee laceration.
When he was on the field this year, Myers made 333 PA and played 752 2/3 innings across all three outfield spots, mostly in center field. He cut his strikeout rate from 33.3% in 2024 to 23.1% in 2025 while also chipping in 18 stolen bases. However, that coincided with a drop in power. His slugging percentage fell from .442 to just .326, and his ISO similarly declined from .179 to .091. Altogether, Myers batted .235/.291/.326 with six home runs and just a 72 wRC+ this year, a disappointment considering he posted a 113 wRC+ in 2024 (albeit in a limited sample).
Defensively, Myers has improved year over year. He was worth -3 Defensive Runs Saved in 155 1/3 outfield innings in 2023 but 1 DRS in 222 innings in 2024. This year, he played 752 2/3 innings in the field and was worth 3 DRS, as well as 2 Outs Above Average. His arm strength is his true calling card, grading out in the 97th percentile according to Statcast. Myers also has excellent range thanks to his 76th-percentile sprint speed.
The trade for Myers gives the Reds a low cost defensive specialist who could fill a platoon role against left-handed pitching. TJ Friedl is the incumbent in center field. He had a 109 wRC+ this year and was worth 2.9 fWAR despite being a liability in the field (-10 DRS). His offense is enough to keep him as a starter up the middle. Meanwhile, a combination of Noelvi Marte, Will Benson, Gavin Lux, and the recently-signed JJ Bleday will occupy the outfield corners. Notably, Marte is the only one of that bunch who hits right-handed. Myers had a 119 wRC+ in 117 PA against southpaws this year, so he could help balance out the lineup from the right side.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old O’Donnell was a sixth-round draft pick by the Reds in 2023. He joins the Marlins’ system after a 2025 season spent at the Double-A level. In 503 PA across 125 games for the Reds’ affiliate in Chattanooga, he had a line of .236/.327/.325 with a 90 wRC+. He struck out 25.6% of the time but showed good plate discipline with a 10.7% walk rate. O’Donnell has shown above-average speed and power in prior seasons, so he might improve with another year at Double-A.
As for Richardson, the 25-year-old was a second-round pick by the Reds in 2018. He made his big-league debut in 2023 and has compiled 55 innings with a 6.05 ERA in 39 appearances (four starts) from 2023-25. He got a somewhat bigger look this year, pitching to a 4.54 ERA in 37 2/3 innings out of the Reds’ bullpen. He got groundballs at an above-average 53.8% rate, but that was offset by a lack of strikeouts (only 17.4%) as well as a 46.2% hard-hit rate against him. Richardson has less than one year of service time but is out of options. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll need his contract to be selected in order to get another look in the majors.
Photo courtesy of Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images
Why would they need him? What they need is an impact Bat, like Geno.
Myers’ career slash vLHP: .297/.360/.456. That’s why they did it.
Exactly! He replaces Andujar
Sure he does
The guy has 0 power
Friedl OPS was .772 vs rhp last year. Myers posted .778 vs lhp last year. Both play cf. There’s a fit there.
.456 career SLG vs LHP = zero power?
(over 500 PA’s, so there’s a true sample size)
10 career home runs in his career. The guy has zero power.
ja
“over 500 PA’s, so there’s a true sample size”
How did you decide that that’s a true sample size?
Smashing baseballs for doubles is power…. .440slg is decent enough power isn’t it?
It’s not a home run so it doesn’t show up in home runs /s
People should watch baseball and not just look at the stats. It’s a fun game.
What do YOU think would be a large enough sample size?
ja
No. No. Why do you think it’s a large enough sample size? You said that it was. Why do you think that?
I’m almost certain it’s because you have zero understanding of statistics or what sample size really even means.
Lol thanks for not responding.
You’re right I have no understanding of any of this. You are clearly much smarter than me.
ja
YOU didn’t respond first
So, I’ll ask again.
Why do you think it’s a “true sample size”
0 power. This is a terrible move
Power is only one aspect of a players talent. Why does everyone have to be so obsessed with it? Speed, defense, bat to ball skills, along with intangibles, have importance as well.
Not if its the entire team. You have to score runs to win at some point.
The Reds are following the Director of Hitting approach (Valaika):
Zero power
Zero bat-to-ball skills
Zero speed on the base paths…
T22m
Homeruns are not the only way to score runs
Only 59 career RBIs as well in 3 seasons. Hitting meaningless doubles that dont drive in any runs isnt helping the team. This guy would be a perfect compliment for say the Dodgers but isnt helping the Reds.
T22m
“Only 59 career RBIs as well in 3 seasons”
RBI?
Is it 1980.
You haven’t figured out yet that RBI is largely a product of your teammates. Do you think Judge would have the same number of RBI if he played on the Pirates? Or if he hit leadoff?
“Hitting meaningless doubles that dont drive in any runs isnt helping the team”
I’m begging you guys. Watch a game once! You might like it.
Sometimes a double doesn’t drive in a run but it gets the player who hit it to second base so a teammate can drive them in. Sometimes it advances a runner from first to third. This makes it easier for them to score.
These don’t show up in the ESPN stat sheet that you’re looking at (but stats like wRC+ do account for it).
So, watch a game.
I’ve watched plenty to know this isnt a transaction that will win games for the Reds. You cant have an entire team with zero power and hope to be able to do more than just squeaking into the playoffs and getting swept because you cant score runs. The Reds need a power hitting bat not defense first guys. As I said this would be a perfect complement for a Dodgers team but this isnt a player thats making the Reds better. If this is the “big” transaction for the Reds this season is over before it starts.
T22m
You’re just making everything that you say up
“You cant have an entire team with zero power and hope to be able to do more than just squeaking into the playoffs and getting swept because you cant score runs. ”
The 2015 KC Royals hit 139 HR – 24th in the league. They won the World Series.
The 2025 Reds hit 167 HR – 21st in the league.
Plus he has an option
That’s key as it allows the Reds to send him down when there’s a catch crunch in any given week…
Good call on that. Always got to check the splits when a signing/trade looks questionable on the surface.
That’s what’s going to make the Reds successful for the first time in 3 decades, carrying 8 platoon players.
Checked out his splits because I wondered if one season was propping them up. Not at all. This was a good move.
To those who are complaining about his power, the acquisition improves the team and if the Reds DON’T get a power bat, it won’t be because of this move.
Doesnt make it a good move. Can’t keep getting light hitting players expecting to score runs.
Can’t keep getting .230 power hitters and expect to score runs, either. Batting average is the most scarce offensive ability. Some team is going to moneyball with it and take a division.
His splits indicate he is pretty damn good against left handed pitching. It lines up really well with Friedl on a platoon. Thats why its good. Thats why Myers splits are important.
This move improved the Reds and cost them nothing adjacent. Even if Myers drops away for whatever reason, you still have nothing to really complain about.
Once again the guy has zero power. The Reds need guys that can drive in runs. They have managed to get zero of those guys this off season. You cant get an entire roster of guys who hit extremely light and hope to improve. Hes not an improvement.
OMG, I think the Castellini’s have hired interns to post on the various message boards 😂😂😂
Pretty much,its kind of sad.
@tiger how much power does he have? Geez you repeated yourself enough times give it a rest. It’s a great move he’s a platoon bat who hits lhp well. They didn’t give up much to get him.
This move adds nothing. Having 13 platoon players makes you a horrible team. At some point they have to score runs. They dont have the guys to do that right now. Give the dumpster diving being good stuff a rest. Facts are he has 0 zero 0 Nada power which is the Reds biggest need not more defense only platoon players. Also dont care what they gave up because this wasnt the need.
Wait I don’t think you’ve mentioned how much power does he have?
0 like your iq
@Tony, there are the idol worshippers who think everything they do is great and they’ll keep spending good money and not demanding better, so management has no incentive to do so. But I wouldn’t put it past them to have interns or their own kids posting here.
Being a small market team doesn’t mean you have to spend 100 million and put out a woefully inadequate club when you spent 130-140 a few years ago.
You know you lost the argument when all you can do is talk trash. Instead of crying about how much power he has 50 times, maybe you should worry about the Tigers losing again with the top pitcher in baseball then him walking as the Tigers receive nothing more than a 2nd round pick. Been quite a while since the Tigers won a World Series. Quite a while…
Wow I didn’t realize it’s been 41 years since the Tigers won a World Series. That’s gotta hurt
You do know theres more Tigers in the world than mlb right? As for your message, hes a player you pick up when you have the power bats in place. The Reds have no players that have hit 30 hrs in a season. Hes a waste of a roster spot for the Reds when there biggest problem is being able to score runs. His lack of power means hes basically just like the other 12 fielders on the roster. They need power not defense first singles hitters.
You’re posting on a mlb board with a name that includes “Tiger”. Cope however you want still 41 years. Also I’m not a Reds fan, just a baseball fan. Power isn’t everything obp is a very important stat, more important that power imo
Superstar analysis, unless it’s buried and i missed it not sure why the writer of this article didn’t cover that all important tidbit. He has huge splits going back five years.
They also did it b/c Myers made one of the greatest catches in the last 5 years. The guy has speed and a glove.
If you think this minor depth/platoon move prevents them from bringing Suarez back home then the Reds were never in on him anyway.
Somewhere in between a dog and a Great Dane
League altering
The O’Donnell link is for a pitcher
👆🏻
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=odo…
Who is O’Donnell? Rosie?
Neil
The Marlins getting a 6th round college bat who is 23 and a top 20 org prospects for Cincinatti in exchange for Dane Myers is kinda crazy.
Actually they got a 26 year old pitcher.
Nope. First sentence says outfielder and he’s #18 on MLB.com
They like trading recent picks for nobodies.
A guy with .325 slugging is a prospect?
When it could be attributed to his nagging shoulder all of this past season, yes. He’s a solid bat, is capable of playing and staying in center field and has huge upside on the base paths as well.
We’ll see. A guy in AA slugging .325 and with shoulder issues? If he pans out, all credit to him.
Why not re-sign Hays? Did pretty good last year considering he was hampered by injuries.
There goes the Reds bullpen two gone in one day.
Yep, Lyon Richardson’s loss is major. There are only about 100 other relievers to take his place.
I would take him on my team he is constantly slightly below average at least you know what to expect.
I don’t think Richardson would have made the Reds active roster out of ST and is out of options. Maxwell, Mey, and Zuluetta probably as good or better and all have an option for 2026. Looks like the Reds are clearing space to add anther bullpen upgrade.
The Reds bullpen as currently constructed is built to last about 2 months of a 6 month season.
You do realize that returning from injuries, Burns, Lowder, Williamson, and Aguair, will all be on innings limits and all possible late season relievers- just like Burns was last year. Besides the Reds have bullpen depth and talent in the upper minors.
The Reds have just 4 guys in their entire system who pitched 25+ MLB innings of relief last year. Hoping & Praying on rookies and rebounds is not a solid plan for success.
There has to be something else in the works in Cincinnati. The outfield now has seven guys for three spots.
Any of them besides Friedl a quality starter?
Marte
Marte has much to prove.
I’ve seen worse and he was learning on the fly, and don’t forget he stated hitting good again
OF is LF – Bleday/Myers, CF – Friedl, RF – Marte, Bench – Benson. Steer at 1B. Lux is a DH/Utility.
Got to give Sal Stewart ABs.
I would be surprised if one of Lux, Friedl, or Benson was not gone by Opening Day.
Lux and Benson. If they get rid of Friedl, they are fools.
Oh…right.
WEAK
No, it is the throw something at the wall and hope it sticks management we have become used to in recent years.
I thought Richardson was starting to figure it out
Seemed like he gave up at least one run, every outing
He was; he was only slightly below replacement level.
Reds are on a transaction rampage this afternoon.
Richardson seems more valuable than Myers. He’ll almost certainly get claimed.
Richardson stock fell the last few years significantly. Too injury prone and too many walks.
I like Richardson too. Great change and powerful fastball. Hopefully he slips through waivers but I doubt it. Getting Jay Howell vibes. Reds drafted and developed him only to trade him around the same age as Richardson. He went on to 3 all star games and over 500 games pitched with a very solid 3.34 era.
Could another trade or a signing be coming? We are stocking up on 4th or 5th outfielders.
Are you aware of team that’s lacking aaaa outfielders cause you should let the reds know
Solid pickup for the Reds. He replaces Andujar to hit against lefties.
Zero power, a complete waste of a roster spot.
He is not going to play everyday, but he has decent line drive power when he makes sweet contact. The speed is as valuable as home runs these days. You have to factor in that on many occasions a base hit turns into an extra base hit when you factor the base-stealing element of the game. Both Juan Soto and Josh Naylor deserve a ton of credit for the extra bases they accumulated this past season when you consider their below average sprint speed. They are both paying close Attention to the game for knowing when the timing is just right to steal a base.
The Reds have way too many guys with speed and defense and zero power.
He replaces Andujar at a fraction of the price – that’s why they traded for him. Typical Reds move.
Love this get for Cincy.
We’re making moves!! Like a tanking, 60-win team
Solid player against lefties. Good move, hopefully the big offensive add is yet to come.
Reds got their left field platoon today it seems.
Maybe one day the Reds will get serious and quit getting extremely light hitting zero power guys.
Krall is searching for and wide for any player he can get that can’t home runs.
And have speed – but Francona won’t let anyone attempt steals so….
Does a more useless stat than ISO exist?
yes, batting average
Low BA tend to correlate to low OBP
WAR.
Everyone says ‘0 power” but he did hit 6 Home Runs last season. Stole 18 bases so there’s some speed there too.
If i were guessing the Reds position player group as of right now would be:
C Tyler Stephenson/Jose Trevino/Ben Rortvedt
1B Spencer Steer/Sal Stewart
2B Matt McLain
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
SS Elly De La Cruz
OF J.J. Bleday/T.J. Friedl/Noelvi Marte/Dane Myers/Will Benson/
UT Gavin Lux
That’s 14 players for 13 spots so one of the Outfielders or one of the Catchers don’t make the team
They likely won’t have three catchers unless Stephenson has some type of injury limiting him to dh, and I’d guess they’ll move lux as well
I think the Reds are setting up for the Robert trade. CWS probably wants Friedl and now the Reds might feel they can afford to let that happen.
That would be a god awful trade on the Reds part.
At least they aren’t paying Luis Robert Jr. millions to not hit and stay hurt. The Reds probably see it as a win to pay someone very little to accomplish little. The major off season goal was to acquire a impact hitter. That hasn’t happened thus far. The good news may be Stewart and Marte’s bats for a full season along with more offense from Steer and EDLC.. These 2 recent OF signees could very well hinder Hines, Dunn and Rodriguez opportunities. It is also possible CES could bounce back from injury, though the place to find that out is AAA.I
F—- CES
Just pitiful from Krall. Terrible. Maybe if they combine the stats of 5 mediocre outfielders together they will equal one average outfielder.
Ok. FO needs to explain this path. This is NOT a playoff roster. Krall has done a great job getting the roster to where we’re at…. Why not attempt to get us to a legitimate place to contend? This roster as it currently stands is not a playoff team.
All moves made have been aimed at stabilization. Not a single move has been made to improve. Adding an impact bat is mandatory.
Seeing a lot of thrash in the comments, but I will say this guy had many flashes at times last year. There were injuries in the mix as well. Could turn into something right now compared to the prospect. I opened this article with an immediate gut reaction of them winning hands down.
I hope you’re right but the Reds need a big bat. A Bleday-Myers platoon isn’t gonna move the needle. They were a Kyle Schwarber away from making a playoff run and they decided to pinch pennies.
Even O’Hearn or Suarez would have moved something.
I thought they couldn’t mismanage this off-season any worse coming off a playoff overmatched and two and done, but as I should have expected, they proved me wrong in that thought.
Hes literally a light hitting outfielder something the Reds already have too many of. This isnt a good trade. You have to score runs to win.
Wasn’t expecting to come home from work to see this mega block buster
Solid move. Myers started strong last year, got injured and faded. Not an every day player, but can platoon in the OF against LHP. Has some speed.
(Some) Reds fans (on MLBTR) are a truly depressing bunch
Why because we want them to add real players and not AAAA players with zero power? These guys arent improving the team. Not every team has a 200 plus million budget to have a bunch of home runs hitters.
Tell your owner to start spending 200 million.
You guys btch about Bob Castellini so much anyway.
the Reds tried to get Kyle, he even said the Reds made a good offer… these two transactions plus the added relievers are good additions… these Reds are still trying to add another bat, they’re not done yet… even if the team doesn’t add anyone else, i’ll be watching the whole season… it’s just baseball… my great nieces are getting into baseball & enjoy going to the games with me… everyone just chill out
Why?
Reds didn’t need the guy they traded and don’t need the guy they acquired. Other than a wardrobe change for each, meh!
Well, at least there’ll be a lot of competition for the last two OF spots behind Bleday, Friedl and Marte: Myers, Benson, Dunn, Rodriguez, Callihan, Hinds, Lux.
Love me a good middle of the night trade! I picture a back room packed with cigarette smoke and guys under a lamp at a round card table.
Considering the current options, the opening day OF roster should be Bleday, Myers, Friedl, Marte and Benson.
You go from “being in on Schwarber” to a Bleday/Myers platoon
I feel as if there should be an “importance level thread”. This type of news is kinda like Fall league or A Ball whereas the meat and potatoes of a Brandon Lowe being moved or a Contrares signing or trade is the major leagues.
Like maybe have a category and file this article under “who cares”? Just a thought.
I wish the reds a very long winning streak though. It’s been too long since the Red men have competed seriously.
Lol,more flea market shopping.
DRS is such a dated metric. Friedl was above average in Outs Above Average in CF, a way better judge of a fielders range. Why are we still using DRS?
The eyeball test tells you Friedl is a solid CF. The corners, however, leave a lot to be desired. They are counting too much on Marte in RF. He has never played a full season yet and he is transitioning from infield to outfield, something the Reds seem to always count on and never seems to work outside Billy Hamilton (fielding wise) and Eric Davis back in the day. But those guys are rare.
Thanks for muting me, Tiger22matt!
Reds fans “This one belongs to the Reds”, “Big whiffa”, and now “Tiger22matt” has muted me on MLBTR.
Reds fans are a truly depressing, sensitive, and insufferable bunch.
I’m a Reds fan and I completely agree with you. Tiger22matt is beyond obnoxious. The guy literally thinks baseball is HR or bust. If you’re reading this Tiger, you keep saying they need to score runs. You do realize guys getting on base and driving each other in counts as runs, right? I’d rather have a lineup of guys who can put the ball in play and keep an inning going than worry about solo HR’s that count for 1 on the scoreboard.
Why?
Quick question: is Tito happy with these moves and does he have a voice in constructing a roster ? Just curious
This is why Bendix makes the big bucks. Most people, including myself, would’ve non-tendered Myers, but not Bendix.
When I saw this trade, I was, “What? We actually got something for Myers?”