Poll: Who Will Be The Odd Man Out In The Reds’ Lineup?
The Reds were perhaps the most surprising playoff club of the 2025 season, as they managed to squeak into the third NL Wild Card spot with an 83-79 record. That return to the postseason came to an abrupt end when they were dispatched by the eventual World Champion Dodgers in the Wild Card round, but that didn’t stop them from making some upgrades to the team this winter. The return of veteran slugger Eugenio Suarez is surely the most impactful addition of the team’s offseason, but it also creates a bit of a logjam within the roster for their existing players. While Suarez is an impactful offensive addition coming off a 49-homer campaign, he’ll surely cut into the playing time of one of the club’s other regulars. That’s especially true given the addition of JJ Bleday to the club’s outfield mix, which effectively replaced the traded Gavin Lux on the roster.
While a reduction in playing time for the rest of the roster is inevitable, the Reds have enough positional flexibility on their roster that exactly how playing time will be divvied up remains an open question. With so many potential lineup configurations, who will end up getting the short end of the stick? There’s a few obvious players who won’t be losing playing time this year. Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino are more or less locked in as the club’s catching tandem. Shortstop Elly De La Cruz is a star and will surely be in the lineup every day as long as he’s healthy. TJ Friedl projects as the regular center fielder, and Suarez himself is sure to play everyday as long as he’s healthy.
For virtually every other player on the roster, however, it’s not impossible to imagine them getting squeezed out. Spencer Steer is perhaps the most established player among the rest of the roster, but even he doesn’t seem to be guaranteed everyday at-bats. That’s in part because he’s without a position. While he was a strong defensive first baseman for the Reds last year, his 97 wRC+ isn’t exactly the sort of impact one expects from that spot in the lineup. That could leave Steer handling any number of positions, as he’s at least passable when playing each of second base, third base, and the outfield corners in addition to first base and DH. That leaves the players at each of those positions (aside from Suarez) with a capable, if unspectacular player breathing down their necks in the hunt for playing time.
At first base, the Reds currently figure to utilize Sal Stewart. A consensus top prospect entering 2026, the rookie got an 18-game cup of coffee in the majors down the stretch last year and did everything one could’ve hoped for with the opportunity. He slashed .255/.293/.545 with five homers and a double in just 58 trips to the plate while managing to keep his strikeout rate at a reasonable 25.9%. He also succeeded when the lights were brightest, going 2-for-4 with a walk and four RBI against Los Angeles in the playoffs while the rest of the team struggled to produce. That’s enough that it should earn him a starting job, and he’s spent plenty of time at third and even second base in addition to first, offering some potential flexibility regarding where he’ll play. With that, said, if the rookie struggles at some point this year it wouldn’t be a shock to see him sent down to Triple-A, where the Reds could garner another year of team control over Stewart if he stays in the minors long enough.
While Stewart’s service time considerations could make Cincinnati a bit more willing to pull him out of the lineup than the rest of their players, that doesn’t mean the others are safe in their playing time. Ke’Bryan Hayes was the team’s most notable deadline addition last year, and his elite glove should mean that the Reds’ pitchers are consistently rooting for him to be in the lineup at third base on a regular basis. With that being said, Hayes is undoubtedly the weakest offensive player on the roster. While he flashed upside earlier in his career with the Pirates, he also hit just .235/.290/.306 (65 wRC+) last year after posting a 60 wRC+ the year prior. If Hayes can’t get his offensive production back into the 90 wRC+ range it sat in from 2021-2023, then it could be hard for the team to justify playing him regularly unless the rest of the lineup is mashing.
Hayes’s offensive woes also apply, at least to some extent, to Matt McLain. McLain appeared in 147 games last year after missing the entire 2024 season due to injury, and his results left a lot to be desired. He hit just .220/.300/.343 with a wRC+ of 77. While he turned in a solid 9.5% walk rate to save his overall slash line somewhat, the combination of a 28.5% strikeout rate and a .124 ISO simply isn’t going to cut it if he wants to be even an average big league hitter. McLain is a former top prospect who showed substantial upside in 2023 with a 129 wRC+ in 89 games, but his leash could wind up being somewhat short if he struggles, given that several other players on the team are capable of handling the keystone.
One such player is Noelvi Marte, who spent last season in right field but has been an infielder for most of his career. Marte had a disastrous 2024 season where he hit just .210/.248/.301 after returning from an 80-game PED suspension, but 2025 saw him take a step in the right direction as he posted a 101 wRC+ in 90 games despite losing two months to an oblique strain. Prior to that injury, Marte looked to be in the midst of a breakout, and while a brutal month of September put a damper on his overall season numbers, it’s not hard to see the 24-year-old taking another step forward this year. With that being said, a slump or two like the ones he suffered in 2024 and the second half of 2025 could conceivably leave Marte as the odd man out if the rest of the lineup is hitting.
One wild card with regards to playing time for the rest of the roster is Bleday. He’s more or less locked into the outfield corners defensively, and therefore can’t offer the sort of versatility virtually every other player here can. He’s also a questionable fit to be in the lineup against lefties, which inherently gives him a lower ceiling in terms of playing time than the rest of the roster. That might make him seem like the obvious pick to get the least playing time on the roster, but his lefty bat on a predominantly right-handed roster could prove extremely valuable. Additionally, Bleday is just one year removed from a solid season for the A’s where he posted a 120 wRC+ and 3.2 fWAR. Last year was tougher on him as he hit just .212/.294/.404, but if he can rediscover his 2024 form he could be one of the top hitters in the Reds’ entire lineup and earn a larger share of playing time than many of these players who have mostly shown league average or lower ability in recent years.
Who do you expect to ultimately draw the short end of the stick when it comes to playing time in Cincinnati this year? Will a young player like Stewart be sent down, or could someone like McLain or Marte struggle despite their former prospect pedigree? Will Hayes’s offense be too weak to justify his excellent defense, or will Bleday not hit enough to justify his middling outfield defense? Or, could the rest of the lineup work out so well that Steer finds himself in a utility role? Have your say in the poll below:
Which Reds player will get the fewest plate appearances in 2026?
Reds Notes: Lineup, Free Agent Pursuits, De La Cruz
The Reds enter this offseason on the heels of a playoff berth that ended almost as quickly as it came, having been swept by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in two games during the NL Wild Card series. There’s still reason for optimism headed into next year thanks to a fantastic rotation led by Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, but Cincinnati’s offense could clearly use some help. It can be hard for a team with the Reds’ small market budget to make substantial upgrades via free agency, but Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon, and Katie Woo of The Athletic write that the club can be flexible as it tries to upgrade the lineup thanks to their existing players’ significant positional versatility.
According to Rosenthal et al., the Reds’ lineup only has three truly locked down positions as things stand: recently acquired third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and star shortstop Elly De La Cruz are locked into the left side of the infield, and Noelvi Marte appears to be set as the club’s everyday right fielder going forward. Setting catcher (where the trio of Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino, and Ben Rortvedt seem fairly entrenched) aside, that leaves two outfield spots, two infield spots, and the DH slot for a host of players to jockey for playing time in. Spencer Steer, Sal Stewart, Matt McLain, Gavin Lux, TJ Friedl, Will Benson, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand makes seven players currently on the roster for five spots in the lineup, before any external additions. Steer and Friedl seem like the best bets of that group to be locked into regular playing time, though Stewart will surely get an extended opportunity as well coming off an impressive cup of coffee in the big leagues down the stretch.
Friedl has been one of Cincinnati’s best hitters in recent years. While he was limited to just 85 games by injuries in 2024, he earned some down-ballot MVP consideration for a four-win 2023 season where he hit 18 homers, stole 27 bases, and posted a 117 wRC+ in 138 games. This past year saw him look more or less recovered from his injury-plagued 2024, hitting .261/.364/.372 with less power and speed than he flashed in 2023 but a career-best 11.8% walk rate to make up for it. Friedl’s .364 on-base percentage ranked 17th in the majors among all qualified hitters this year, and he’s sure to be an asset to the Reds’ offense whether he ultimately ends up in left field or center field. Steer, meanwhile, has been more of a league average hitter in the past two seasons after enjoying a strong 2023 season, but has average 21 homers and 16 steals over the past three seasons.
Rosenthal et al. suggest that Steer could wind up at either first base or in left field, while Stewart could play either first or second base. With Friedl capable of playing either open outfield spot, Lux experienced at both second base and in left field, and McLain able to handle both the keystone and center, there’s plenty of room for moving parts in the Reds’ lineup. That’s good news for a team that needs to add offense, as the Reds can afford to be opportunistic and not worrying as much about positional fit. If an infielder like Jorge Polanco becomes available, it would be easy enough for the Reds to simply plug him into second base, leaving McLain and Lux to move around the diamond in utility roles while Stewart takes over first base, Steer slides to left and Friedl handles center. Alternatively, a first baseman like Ryan O’Hearn could push Stewart over to second, or an outfielder like Cedric Mullins could push Steer to first base.
Speculatively speaking, that would appear to leave McLain, Lux, Benson, and Encarnacion-Strand without a position headed into 2026, although Rosenthal et al. did suggest the possibility that Benson could platoon with an outfielder acquired in free agency, which could be sensible if the Reds were to land a right-handed bat with significant platoon splits like Rob Refsnyder. Keeping those players in the fold as depth to protect against injuries and under-performance would be a valid path to take for the Reds, though it’s also possible that a trade or two could be made at some point this winter that would help to thin the glut of positional talent jockeying for playing time.
Even as the team looks for external help in the lineup, there’s reason to believe improvements could be on the horizon internally next year, as well. Manny Randhawa and Mark Sheldon of MLB.com recently relayed comments from club GM Nick Krall regarding De La Cruz’s health this offseason. While Krall had previously suggested that De La Cruz played through a “partial tear” of his quadriceps late in the 2025 season, he later clarified that it was actually a quad strain that De La Cruz was dealing with. Quad strains are defined as a partial tear of the muscle, but Krall noted that his wording suggested the injury was more severe than it actually was.
Whatever the specifics of De La Cruz’s injury may have been, the fact that he was playing through something helps to explain his repeated defensive miscues at shortstop in the final months of the 2025 campaign, as well as his lackluster .236/.303/.363 slash line after the All-Star break this season. That creates some reason for optimism that De La Cruz will be able to rebound and turn in a performance closer to his 2024 form (when he hit 25 homers, stole 67 bases, and finished 8th in NL MVP voting) next year. For a Reds club that seems unlikely to broach the top of the market for hitters like Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, having De La Cruz performing at a star level to anchor the lineup is all the more important.
Reds To Promote Sal Stewart
The Reds are calling up top infield prospect Sal Stewart, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports. The transaction will presumably be made official prior to Cincinnati’s game with Toronto on Monday, and corresponding moves might not be necessary since rosters are expanding and the Reds have an open spot on the 40-man roster.
Stewart was the 32nd overall pick of the 2022 draft, and he’ll be making his big league debut whenever he first appears in a game. Beyond just the regular pressure of playing in the majors for the first time, Stewart is also joining a Reds team that is desperately trying to stay in the wild card picture. The Reds’ win over the Cardinals today was only Cincinnati’s second victory in its last 10 games, as the Reds have dropped to a 69-68 record and four games behind the Mets for the last NL wild card slot.
If anything, Cincinnati fans would’ve preferred to have seen Stewart in the Show weeks ago, given how the lineup has been struggling and Stewart has been crushing minor league pitching. The infielder has a combined .309/.383/.523 slash line over 494 plate appearances in Double-A (329 PA) and Triple-A (165 PA) this season, which marked the first time Stewart had played above A-level ball. It has been a rapid rise for a player who is just 21 years old, and it is possible he might’ve made it to the majors even sooner if a wrist injury hadn’t limited him to 80 games in 2024.
MLB Pipeline’s midseason update of its top-100 prospects list ranked Stewart 31st in all of baseball, while Baseball America has Stewart 86th on its top 100. Both pundits give Stewart a 60-grade for his hit tool, and both cited the fact that Stewart has nearly as many walks (184) as strikeouts (216) over the course of his 1378 career PA in the minor leagues. Stewart is very skilled at making hard and consistent contact, and he has upside in the power department — with 20 homers in the minors this year, Stewart is already showing signs of developing that pop.
Stewart has mostly played third base during his career, while also seeing some time as a second baseman and playing in his first two pro games as a first baseman while at Triple-A. Evaluators aren’t sure about his defensive future and first base might ultimately end up being his ideal position down the road, but for now, Stewart could help out at multiple spots within the struggling Reds infield.
Cincinnati has stayed in the playoff mix despite getting negative-bWAR production from first base, second base, and third base. Ke’Bryan Hayes was acquired at the trade deadline to at least stabilize third base from a defensive standpoint, but the Reds have stuck with Spencer Steer and Matt McLain at the other two infield spots despite subpar offense. Stewart could easily be given some at-bats at the expense of Steer or McLain, with second base probably being the likelier landing spot since Stewart is still relatively inexperienced as a first baseman.
Due to the late call-up, Stewart will retain his rookie status heading into 2026. He would also therefore qualify under the Prospect Promotion Incentive rules, so he could earn the Reds a bonus draft pick if he remains on the MLB roster for the entire 2026 season.
Draft Signings: Mariners, White Sox, Reds, Orioles
Here is today’s roundup of top-39 (first round, supplemental round, Competitive Balance Round A) draft picks who have signed their first pro contracts. For further reference, here is the full list of recommended slot prices, and you can click the links for full pre-draft rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
- The Mariners have signed their picks from the first three rounds, according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer (Twitter link). This includes 21st overall pick Cole Young, who received a $3.3MM bonus that is slightly above the $3,292,900 slot price. The high school shortstop was a consensus pick in the 12-20 range by evaluators, and is considered to have a high floor as an all-around talent and future big leaguer, though there is some question whether he has the skillset to be a regular starter.
- The White Sox agreed to a deal with left-hander Noah Schultz, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. (The Sox officially announced Schultz’s signing later in the day.) Schultz’s $2.8MM bonus is also a touch above the $2,789,400 assigned to the 26th overall pick. A local product born in Napierville, Illinois, Schultz is already 6’9″ at age 18, and owns a plus slider and an unconventional low-slot delivery. McDaniel was the highest of the pundits on Schultz’s potential, ranking the southpaw 34th in the draft class.
- The Reds agreed to sign Sal Stewart for $2,097,500, Callis reports. This is under the $2,373,000 slot price attached to the 32nd overall selection, which could reflect a slight reach on the Reds’ part — BA was the highest on Stewart with a 58th overall ranking, and Law had Stewart 59th. That said, McDaniel thought Stewart could be something of a tough sign due to his commitment to Vanderbilt, but the high school third baseman will instead forego college for the minor leagues.
- The Orioles announced the signing of Dylan Beavers, the 33rd overall selection. Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Ruiz (Twitter link) reports that Beavers received a $2.2MM bonus, providing the O’s with some savings under the $2,315,100 slot price. Pipeline ranked the Cal outfielder 22nd in its rankings, writing that “when Beavers is locked in, he’s the proverbial five-tool player,” though Beavers had had some issues staying consistent.