𝕏: ItsRickyLogan

The Cincinnati Reds have been somewhat active this offseason, not as much as the past few, but active nonetheless. Here’s what I think the Reds are going to do with the current roster construction.

The Reds have added to an infield that already had depth. They traded away Jonathan India and Joey Weimer for Brady Singer. They acquired catcher Jose Trevino from the Yankees for Fernando Cruz. They traded for a former top 100 prospect from the Rangers in Owen White for cash and traded for Gavin Lux from the Dodgers for prospect Mike Sirota. As of writing this, the outfield has yet to be addressed so it seems like we’re going to see a similar outfield to last year. Nick Krall has recently stated that there is some spending cash available, but not a lot. It would seem that they might be nearly complete with their offseason plans, baring a trade. Here is a position by position breakdown by the current 40 man roster.

First base/DH: Christian Incarnation-Strand and Jeimer Candelario will most likely share first base and DH in 2025. I’m expecting a good season from CES. CES has raw power that has potential for league leading power. As for Candelario? I believe most of his issues were from him pressing and playing hurt. Candy has good power and being a switch hitter adds a dynamic to the lineup that gives the Reds an advantage.

Infield: I’m lumping this one as infield because I think second base through third base will be fluid. I think Matt McLain will get the majority of the playing time at second base. Gavin Lux will most likely get the most playing time at third base. Elly De La Cruz has cemented himself as the everyday shortstop in my opinion. There could be times where Elly might be asked to move to third for a game here and there. He did play third in last year’s All-Star game. I could see Spencer Steer getting a game or two at second base and first base in a pinch as well. With the recent roster moves, I see Noelvi Marte starting the season in AAA to get his confidence back. Marte is a pivotal player in the Reds future, but they have addressed the need to help him get back on track. Santiago Espinal will get playing time, he is a perfect fit for a bench infielder who can play all over the infield.

Catcher: This one should be pretty obvious to all Reds fans. Tyler Stephenson is the everyday catcher. The Reds bolstered the backup catcher position by acquiring Jose Trevino from the New York Yankees this offseason. He is a clear upgrade from Luke Maile of 2024. The Reds do not have great depth at the catcher position, there most notable prospect is Alfredo Duno, but he is years away from seeing the big leagues.

Outfield: This offseason, the biggest area of need was the outfield. Sadly, it just hasn’t been addressed. Now, Jake Fraley had a really tough 2024. Between family health issues and personal health issues, he could rebound and be more productive like he was in 2023. Fraley has good plate discipline and decent speed. He showed grit late in ‘23 playing through a foot injury while the team was fighting for a potential playoff spot. TJ Friedl will get the majority of the playing time in centerfield. Friedl had issues staying healthy in 2024 so the Reds gave Matt McLain playing time in centerfield during the Arizona Fall League to maybe prepare him to get some playing time out there this upcoming season. McLain played centerfield in college and a little bit in the minor leagues, but primarily played shortstop before the major leagues. I believe McLain will get a good number of games in centerfield.

I believe Spencer Steer will be the primary left fielder. Steer started 2024 out strong but wasn’t as strong for most of 2024. With all of that, he still hit 20 home runs, had nearly 100 RBI’s and had 25 stolen bases. For the rotational outfielders, that leaves Stuart Fairchild and a possibility of Rece Hinds, Blake Dunn or Jacob Hurtubise as the other bench outfielders. Rece Hinds has the most potential of the three, but Blake Dunn has great speed and decent power, so he could position himself to make the club out of spring training.

Hurtubise has the advantage of being a left handed bat as well as being a good contact hitter. I would like to see Will Benson start the year out in AAA if everything goes well in spring training injury wise. Benson has a lot of untapped potential that he displayed in 2023, but I believe he pressed a little last season and some refinement in Louisville should be in the Reds’ plans. One thing to look out for, is a possibility of CES playing a few games in a corner outfield spot. He played a little bit out there in the Arizona Fall League so maybe the Reds were looking into that as an option.

Rotation: I believe the rotation will most likely be a mix of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer and Rhett Lowder. I think Nick Martinez will get starts, but he has great flexibility in long relief spots too, that’s incredibly valuable to a young rotation that usually doesn’t go deep in games. There’s also durability concerns with Nick Lodolo that could see a possible bullpen move. I genuinely think that would suite him best should his finger injuries continue to plague him.

Bullpen: The biggest change this offseason was the trade of Fernando Cruz to the Yankees. The easiest replacement in my opinion to supplement his loss is moving Graham Ashcraft to the bullpen. I believe Ashcraft would thrive in a low innings role. He has great stuff. High velocity cutter, sinker and slider. The rest of the bullpen should be the likes of Tony Santillian, Emilio Pagán, Sam Moll, Yosver Zulueta, Alexis Diaz, Brent Suter and Carson Spiers in long relief. Luis Mey was added to the 40 man roster to avoid the Rule 5 Draft, should he have a good spring training and start out strong in the minors, he could see time in Cincinnati in 2025, he has closer stuff and could be a viable replacement to Alexis Diaz should he show signs of regression in the closer role. Owen White is a wild card in the bullpen. He has great stuff but had command issues that have limited him. He’s only pitched in 7 innings in his Major League career so far but it hasn’t been pretty. 16.71 ERA in that time. He pitched well in the low levels of the minor leagues but the higher levels gave him troubles and maybe Texas rushed him.

I really don’t think the Reds are completely done this offseason. With the recently announced TV deal with Fanduel TV they should have a little more spending money than expected. They really need an outfield bat. Will they spend for one or will they trade for one? They’ve been linked to Luis Robert Jr from the White Sox and have been linked to Jesse Winker and Anthony Santander in free agency. The Athletics have two outfielders I wouldn’t mind seeing in a potential trade as well, Miguel Andujar and Seth Brown. I will release a final version once we get closer to Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report on February 12th, 2025.

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Photo Credit; ALSD, MLB.com(2x), AOL.com, Sports Illustrated, AP News.

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