The All-Star break arrived at a welcome moment for the Cincinnati Reds, who limped into it after a hot April gave way to a rough stretch. At 43-52, they sit 15.5 games behind in the National League Central and eight games out of the final National League Wild Card spot.
If the Reds are going to stage another late push like they did last season, the path ahead is a tough one. TJ Stats ranked the remaining second-half schedules for every team, and Cincinnati landed with the eighth-hardest slate.
That fits the shape of the National League Central this year. The division has been packed with teams that could still end up in the postseason, with the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates all in the mix.
Cincinnati’s first series out of the break comes this weekend against the Colorado Rockies, who are 39-59. If the Reds want to show they still have life, a sweep would be the kind of start they need.
July only gets more demanding from there. The Reds are set to face the Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Guardians, and Pittsburgh Pirates before the month is over.
With the way they’ve played against NL Central opponents, it’s fair to wonder whether the season could be effectively over by the end of July.
The trade deadline will quickly become the next major storyline once play resumes. There have already been reports of interest in utility man Spencer Steer.
At this point, the expectation is that the Reds will be sellers. They haven’t shown enough to look like a legitimate postseason team, and the 2026 season has fallen short both in the front office and on the field.
That brutal second-half schedule may end up doing the rest.
In Other News...
Eugenio Surez Just Reached A Painful Crossroads With The Reds
Eugenio Surez came back to Cincinnati with the kind of expectations that usually follow a familiar face returning to a place where he once mattered. Instead, the season has been defined by interrupted rhythm and missed time, including a left oblique strain that cost him 25 games, and by the broader frustration of a Reds club sitting in last place and looking toward the August 3 trade deadline with a sellers mindset.
For Surez, the crossroads is less about nostalgia than about whether there is still enough production left to matter in the stretch run. His offensive numbers have lagged, his defensive value has slipped, and even with Terry Francona publicly showing faith in what Surez can still provide, the bigger question around the veteran is whether Cincinnati can get enough out of him to change the conversation at all. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A Costly New Reality On Jacob Misiorowski
The Reds long-term bet on Chase Burns has already sent a ripple through the division, and it is the kind of move that tends to reset the market for young pitching. A seven-year, $105 million extension gives Cincinnati cost certainty on a right-hander with front-line upside, while also putting a fresh price tag on what elite, pre-arbitration arms can command when teams decide to buy out the future early.
For Milwaukee, that matters because Jacob Misiorowski is now the next name to watch in the same conversation. The Brewers have a pitcher whose performance this season has only strengthened his case, and the Burns deal suggests any serious extension talks would have to climb well past that benchmark. In other words, if the Brewers want to lock Misiorowski in, they may be staring at a number that gets uncomfortable in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Prospect Just Made The Kind Of Debut Fans Notice
Ben Wereski did not need long to make an impression in the Reds organization. The Double-A right-hander, now with the Chattanooga Lookouts, was named Player of the Week after a dominant first outing that immediately put him on the radar in a system that has been leaning hard toward college arms and polished, ready-made talent in recent drafts.
Wereskis path makes the debut even more notable. He pitched at Columbia and Rutgers, spent time in independent ball before landing with Cincinnati, and arrived with the kind of backstory that often comes with a little extra urgency. With the Reds continuing to build around college players and with draft rules potentially shifting in ways that could change how clubs like Cincinnati attack future classes, performances like this one only sharpen the conversation around who might be next to rise. [Read more 🡒]