With the season entering its final stretch, the Reds are using the last weeks of 2025 to get a closer look at a few players who could matter next year - and maybe even in 2027. The most obvious examples are Juan Brito and Oswaldo Cabrera, two waiver additions who give Cincinnati some much-needed versatility and a chance to carve out roles beyond this month.
Brito has turned his September opportunity into a real audition. The 24-year-old was squeezed out of a spot with the Cleveland Guardians after the trade deadline, even after briefly handling everyday second-base duties early in the season. His early big-league stint was rough offensively, but Brito said he’s in a better place now, especially from the left side of the plate after hamstring surgery last September.
“That took from away my abilities to hit from the left side,” Brito said. “The confidence that I get from my teammates, from the coaches, all of the people on the staff and the medical staff, everything has been really positive. It feels good.”
Cincinnati grabbed Brito in early August, sent him to Louisville, and then called him up in early September when Elly De La Cruz was banged up and had to serve as the designated hitter for a few games. The Reds needed extra infield help, Brito got the look, and his production was enough to keep him around. Over the last week, he’s been in the lineup almost every day.
Terry Francona pointed to the simplicity of Brito’s approach.
“Right-handed, (his swing) is very short and to the ball,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Left-handed, it’s a little different.
That happens with guys a lot. I also think confidence plays a big part.
He’s playing a bit, and he’s trying to take advantage of it. He’s playing the game, and that’s what we really like.
Not trying to do too much.”
Brito’s value is tied to how many places he can cover. He can handle first base, second base, third base and the outfield, and while he isn’t being sold as a difference-making defender or a big power threat, the Reds are giving him a chance to prove that his contact-oriented bat can help.
Cabrera brings a different kind of flexibility, but the same basic appeal. Cincinnati claimed him over the weekend, and Francona made it clear the organization thinks there’s a real path for him to stick.
“This is a guy we view can possibly stay here and be on our club next year,” Francona said. “The reports on him have been off the charts with makeup, he has played seven positions… We can’t pass this one up.”
Cabrera has been around long enough to know how to make himself useful. He debuted in 2022 and quickly became popular because of the way he played the game.
He’s a switch hitter, was below average at the plate overall, but held his own against right-handed pitching. His best season came in 2024, when he posted a 1.3 WAR in 108 games.
Then came a season-ending ankle injury in May of 2025.
This year, Cabrera hit .790 OPS in Triple-A and also appeared in three major league games for the Yankees. Aaron Boone offered a strong assessment of his recovery and production.
“Oswaldo’s come back from a very difficult (ankle) injury and had a really good year down in Triple-A,” Aaron Boone told New York reporters, according to MLB dot com. “He’s playing really well. So hopefully this is just one of those things, and I’m confident that Oswaldo will go on to have a very good career.”
For now, the exact shape of Brito’s and Cabrera’s future with Cincinnati is still to be determined. But with the Reds looking at a bench that didn’t have much locked in for next season, both players have given the club more options heading into spring.
The Reds are also using the season’s final week to evaluate starting pitcher Carson Spiers. On Sunday, Sept. 20, they placed Chase Burns on the injured list with a groin injury. The team had been monitoring Burns’ innings, and his first full big-league season now ends after what the organization views as a highly successful year.
Spiers’ own path has been anything but smooth. He began the 2025 season in the rotation, then dealt with a shoulder injury in April and an elbow injury in July. He is now back after Tommy John surgery, and the Reds are giving him one more chance to make an impression before the year is done.
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