The Reds have added another outfield option, agreeing to a minor league deal with Dominic Fletcher and sending him to Triple-A Louisville.
Fletcher, 29, had just become a free agent in mid-August after he triggered a release clause in his minor league contract with the Pirates. Now he lands with Cincinnati, a team whose outfield production has been a major problem this season. Reds outfielders rank last in MLB in FanGraphs WAR, and the club sits six games under .500 and 6.5 games out in the Wild Card chase.
A former Diamondbacks draftee, Fletcher went 75th overall in 2019 and reached the majors four years later. His first run in Arizona was short but encouraging. In 28 games in 2023, he hit .301 with a .791 OPS and a 112 wRC+, while also piling up 4 Defensive Runs Saved and 2 Outs Above Average across all three outfield spots before a fractured finger ended his season in August.
Things changed after that. Arizona traded him to the White Sox the next winter for right-hander Cristian Mena, and Fletcher never really found his footing in Chicago.
He got plenty of chances on a rebuilding roster, but across 72 games he hit just .206 with a .508 OPS and a 44 wRC+. His glove stayed strong, especially in right field, but the bat never came close to matching it.
His 2024 season closed on a rough stretch, with a .164/.195/.219 line in September. Then came another tough spring, and the White Sox designated him for assignment on Opening Day 2025.
He stayed in the organization, got back to the majors in September, and played 12 games while batting .219 with a .733 OPS and a 99 wRC+. Even that solid enough finish wasn’t enough to keep him on the 40-man roster after the season, and he chose free agency.
Fletcher then signed with Pittsburgh in December on a minor league deal and spent 63 games with Triple-A Indianapolis this year. There, he put together one of the best stretches of his career at any level, posting a walk rate above 10%, a strikeout rate below 15%, and a wRC+ 30% better than league average. Still, he never got the call to Pittsburgh.
He opted out in July, re-signed with the Pirates a couple weeks later, and now moves on again. If Cincinnati adds him to the 40-man roster and keeps him out of Triple-A Indianapolis, Fletcher would still have an option year left that could prove useful in 2027.
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