The Reds have a third-base problem, but the answer probably isn’t another free-agent stopgap.
Ke’Bryan Hayes is owed $29,000,000 over the next 3+ seasons, with $7,000,000 due in 2027, $8,000,000 in both 2028 and 2029, and a $12,000,000 option for 2030 that comes with a $6,000,000 buyout. And the production hasn’t come close to matching the contract.
Hayes is coming off the worst season of his career, and his bat has been stuck in neutral since 2023. His OPS sat at .573 in 2024, .595 in 2025, and cratered to .419 this past season, when he hit .141 in 94 games for Cincinnati.
There’s no getting around the fact that the Reds need a new starting third baseman. When he’s been on the field, Hayes has mostly been at third, but health has been a major issue, too.
Back with the Pirates, he dealt with a back injury that he said will never quite be right. The Reds knew that when they traded for him, and even with the glove still showing up, the overall results haven’t been good.
That’s why Mark Feinsand of MLB.com floated Alec Bohm as a possible fit. Bohm is 30 and just posted the worst season of his career.
He’s never been a big-time bat, but at his best he has hovered around league average or a little better. In 2026, though, he hit .249/.315/.383 with an OPS+ of 87.
Defense hasn’t been his calling card, either.
Feinsand also cited an unnamed executive who suggested Bohm could be chasing a one-year deal to rebuild his stock and “prove it” before heading back to free agency next offseason. Great American Ball Park would make sense as a place to try that. It’s the kind of park hitters tend to like.
But the bigger question is whether it makes sense for Cincinnati.
Sal Stewart is coming off a strong year at the plate. He spent a lot of time at first base, but he can handle third, especially if the Reds are comparing him to Bohm-level defense.
Stewart ended up at first more often in 2026 because Spencer Steer was out for about half the season. Steer had wrist surgery after the year and is expected to be ready for spring training, though there’s no telling yet how he’ll look coming back.
What is clear is that Steer hit much better than Bohm in 2026, and the Reds are going to give him a shot in 2027.
That leaves Cincinnati staring at a simple roster decision: use the internal options already in place instead of spending more to chase another fix. Stewart can play third.
Steer can play first most days. And the Reds have enough other holes to patch without pouring money into a position they may already be equipped to cover.
The club’s spending limits are what they are. That reality matters. If money is going to be tight, using it on a third-base replacement doesn’t look like the smartest allocation when the roster already has answers in-house and plenty of other problems still waiting.
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The catch is the same one that usually shadows any discussion about Westburg: availability. His talent is clear enough to make him interesting, but the Reds would have to decide how much risk they can live with when a players history raises questions about whether he can stay on the field long enough to be a dependable answer at a premium position. [Read more 🡒]