The return of Nick Martinez and acquisition of Brady Singer they’ve strengthened the Reds’ rotation and now have a club looking to improve the offense. President of baseball operations Nick Krall tells Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that the Reds “want to add some hitters” now. And while Krall wouldn’t definitively rule out the addition of another infielder, he did suggest that any new acquisitions “could” be in the outfield. Sheldon’s piece has several quotes from Krall, so Reds fans in particular will want to check it out in full.
The extent to which Reds ownership is willing to increase salary is unclear at this time. Reds COO Doug Healy said last month that wages would be at the level of 2024 or so. Cincinnati finished last year with a $100MM payroll and is currently projected to be paid $101MM in 2025, per RosterResource. They will need to be willing to push that number a little higher, find a way to get out of the existing contract (eg. Jeimer Candelario, Emilio Pagan), or make a trade for a middle-of-the-pack bat to further bolster the lineup.
Krall noted that he is exploring both free agent and trade opportunities as he looks to put together an outside combine that currently includes. Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl, Spencer Steer, Is Benson, Stuart Fairchild, Blake Dunn again Rece Hinds.
Steer can also play multiple infield positions, but the Reds have a dense — if inexperienced — infield mix. Elly De La Cruz locked in at shortstop. Matt McLain is likely to carry second base every day as India has been sold. Things are uncertain in the corners after Candelario struggled in the first year of a three-year contract. You will be in the mix in both corners, while the former is on top Noelvi Marte he will see time again for the third time Christian Encarnacion-Strand you will see the time at first. Marte missed half the season due to a PED suspension and suffered a concussion upon his return. Encarnacion-Strand made even less of an impact in 123 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending wrist surgery.
Given the uncertainty about the infield corners, it’s possible that Steer will at least end up seeing more time in the infield. He was an infielder for the Twins (the organization that drafted him) and only started working out with the Reds in 2023 due to their glut of infielders.
The type of field acquisition the Reds do in other ways will dictate field alignment. It appears that the target will be a corner bat, due to the lack of center field options on the market and due to Friedl’s presence in center field. Friedl’s defensive grades dipped last season, though that may be due to a hamstring injury that kept him out for a month over the summer. Friedl drew combined marks for his glovework and fastball in 2023. In 2024, his average velocity (as measured by Statcast) dropped from 28.3 feet per second (74th percentile for MLB players) to 26.5 ft/sec (26th percentile). Friedl went 6-for-6 on steal attempts through his first 26 games of the season. He played in 59 games coming back from the layoff and attempted four more steals (going 3-for-4). It seems clear that his legs did not have full strength.
Among the corner options on the market are Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernandez, Tyler O’Neill, Jurickson Profar, Michael Conforto, Max Kepler, Mike Tauchman and an old friend Jesse Winker. After Martinez accepts a $21.05MM qualifying offer, it would be surprising to see Cincinnati go into the potential $20MM+ annual price range required to sign Hernandez or Santander. The Reds also have a right-handed lineup at the moment, perhaps making the left-handed bat even more appealing.
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