Cam Collier was supposed to be part of the Reds’ cleanest path forward. Instead, his season left Cincinnati with another hole to fill.
The 2022 first-round pick did at least show one sign of life in 2026 after a thumb injury wrecked the start of his 2025 campaign and wiped out his power. Collier, who is soon to be 22, bounced back to hit 18 home runs. But the rest of the line still left plenty to be desired, and that matters for a player the Reds hoped could help shape their 2027 picture.
Over 135 games at Double-A, Collier hit .209/.286/.368. That followed a 2025 stretch in Chattanooga in which he posted a much stronger .263/.377/.347 line with a 14.6% walk rate, even though he managed only four homers in 95 games overall, including 74 at Double-A. The power outage from last year made 2026 a crucial season, and while the home run total came back, the overall production did not give Cincinnati the kind of answer it needed.
That’s where the Reds’ bigger roster puzzle comes in. Sal Stewart is still central to how the club handles its offseason, especially with a weak free-agent third base market offering few real upgrades over the much-maligned Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Cincinnati could look for a first baseman and move Stewart back to third, though the options there are not especially strong either. A trade may be the best way to maximize Stewart at the hot corner.
Collier was supposed to be another internal solution. He and Stewart both have the ability to play first and third base, and in the best-case scenario, the pair would have formed the bookends of the infield next season. Instead, Collier’s season pushed that idea off the table.
There’s no real path for him to reach Cincinnati before September, which means he still needs significant work. And that’s the part that stings for the Reds: the farm system is not in great shape, particularly at the upper levels. Most of the talent is below Double-A, and the prospects who were supposed to be moving toward the majors in Chattanooga and Louisville have seen their stock slip.
Edwin Arroyo’s struggles have made him no sure thing to replace an equally underwhelming Matt McLain. Héctor Rodríguez had his ups and downs after getting called up. Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty have not shown they can be counted on from the pitching side.
For a team operating in Cincinnati’s budget range, that’s a serious issue. In a perfect setup, the Reds could lean on a pitcher like Lowder to cover for a free-agent departure such as Brady Singer, then redirect the savings toward another need. But the system doesn’t offer that kind of easy recycling right now, and that makes the 2027 roster build much harder.
Collier’s season is the clearest example of it. What should have been a straightforward internal answer became another problem, and now the Reds are left searching outside the organization again, with fewer resources to patch the other spots that still need help.
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