The Reds have a strange roster picture heading into the next stretch, with a handful of promising names at the top and a long list of uncertainty underneath. Chase Burns, Elly De La Cruz, and Sal Stewart stand out as All-MLB-caliber pieces, but beyond that, the club’s future gets a lot murkier.
That’s why a few familiar faces could be on the move before Opening Day 2027.
TJ Friedl is one of the clearest candidates to be gone. He still has two years of arbitration remaining, but his season was rough enough that the Reds may decide to move on rather than keep investing at the big-league level.
Friedl finished at -1.0 WAR after hitting .172/.255/.255 with a 43 OPS+. He never showed signs of turning it around, and that puts Cincinnati in a difficult spot when it comes time to decide whether to offer him another deal in arbitration.
Brady Singer also looks like a player the Reds may need to part with. He is a qualifying offer candidate, and he would almost certainly accept it, but the team may not want to go that route after the way he pitched late in the year. The bigger issue is that the Reds need more than just a short-term decision here - they may need to cut ties completely.
Singer’s problem is simple: he does not miss enough bats. That made him a shaky arm to begin with, and the final stretch only made the case worse.
He threw more balls than usual and couldn’t generate a whiff. His average exit velocity allowed was 90.4mph, nearly matching his average fastball velocity of 91.1mph.
Eugenio Suárez is the other big name to watch. He has a club option for next season, and after the way he finished, Cincinnati could at least consider bringing him back. But that still feels unlikely.
The more probable outcome is Suárez leaving for another team on a one-year deal. His strong finish should be enough to create a market in free agency, and the Reds probably won’t be the team willing to pay the most to keep him.
In Other News...
Elly De La Cruz Just Added To His Growing Reds Legacy
Elly De La Cruz keeps stacking up milestones in a way that is starting to feel routine for the Reds, even though nothing about what he is doing is ordinary. With his latest push, he became just the fourth player in Cincinnati history and only the second shortstop in franchise history to reach a 30/30 season, another reminder that his mix of power and speed is landing him in rare company.
At 24, De La Cruz also joined a short list of shortstops age 24 or younger to turn in a 30/30 year, alongside Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Hanley Ramirez. For a franchise that has already watched him collect records tied to extra-base hits, stolen bases and switch-hitting production, it is another marker of how quickly he is building a legacy in Cincinnati, with the larger question now being how far that resume can still grow. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Season Finale Has One Unexpected Reason Fans Will Want In
With the regular season coming to a close and neither side headed to October, Sunday's finale between the Reds and Blue Jays still carries a little extra weight. Cincinnati is sending Brandon Williamson to the mound, while Toronto counters with Max Scherzer, and the matchup gives both clubs one last chance to put a cleaner finish on months of uneven baseball. The lineups are set, the season context is clear, and for the Reds there is at least one reason to keep an eye on a game that otherwise has little bearing on the standings.
Max Scherzer is the center of the intrigue, because this start could be the last of his career. Even in a game that no longer changes the playoff picture, that possibility gives the afternoon a different feel, especially with player milestones and the final box score of the year still waiting to be written. For Cincinnati, it is the kind of end-of-season stage where a young pitcher can get one more meaningful look and fans can appreciate that, sometimes, the most interesting part of a lost season is the closing act. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Head Into 2027 With One Big Question About This Core
The Reds spent 2026 trying to piece together a season that never really found its footing, and the final record showed it: 75-87 and last place in the National League Central. Injuries piled up, the offense never got untracked, and the defense had its own issues, leaving Cincinnati at the bottom of the majors in batting average and on-base percentage. Even so, there were a couple of bright spots for a club trying to build something more stable than its results suggested.
Sal Stewart and Chase Burns gave the Reds reasons to keep looking forward, with both turning in strong individual seasons and earning All-Star recognition. Burns also signed a contract extension, a sign the organization sees him as part of the long-term answer. The bigger question now is whether Cincinnati can turn those promising pieces into a core that actually carries the club out of this kind of season and into something more competitive by 2027. [Read more 🡒]