The Cincinnati Reds enter the offseason with work to do on several fronts, but the biggest issue is easy to spot: they need a bat that changes the lineup.
Cincinnati fell back to 75 wins in 2026 after reaching the postseason in 2025, and the roster now has some obvious gaps. Emilio Pagan opted out of his deal and landed with the Detroit Tigers on a one-year, $11.5 million contract, leaving the Reds to search for a new closer. Catcher is also a question unless Tyler Stephenson returns, and Hunter Greene is set to miss the entire 2027 season, which only increases the need for more starting pitching.
Still, the loudest need is offense, ideally in the outfield.
That’s why MLB insider Paul Hembekides floated a familiar name on the BBTN podcast earlier this week: Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ.
“I’ve got him going to Cincinnati,” Hembekides said. “Two years, $38 million.
He went to college in Cincinnati. They desperately need offense.
He can play left field exceptionally well. He can play right field if you need him to.
They just need to get better and they’ve seen him in the division a lot.”
Happ makes for a natural fit on paper. He played college baseball at the University of Cincinnati, and the Reds have watched him from across the division for years. He has also been a problem for Cincinnati over the course of his career.
But there are real questions here, too. Happ is 32, and his OPS has declined each of the last four three seasons. That matters for a team that can’t afford to miss on another veteran bat.
There’s also the platoon issue. Happ is a switch-hitter, but the numbers suggest he’d still likely need to be managed carefully.
In 2026, he hit .145/.217/.267 with eight in 144 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. Against right-handed pitching, he posted a .241/.358/.458 line with 47 extra-base hits.
Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall addressed the kind of players the club wants to target on Wednesday, and his comments pointed straight at the same concern.
“Some of the guys we’ve brought in, they’ve not made great contact,” Krall told Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard. “Their bodies haven’t aged real well.
We have to do a better job of scouting those players and knowing those players. Who actually fits where on our club?
We’ve signed a guy who was out of position. We locked up our DH last year, which hurt with moving some other guys around.
It’s about making sure we have some proper flexibility.”
So the Reds are left weighing the upside of a player they know well against the risk of repeating past mistakes. The question is whether they believe Happ can hold up in Cincinnati, or whether he’d become another expensive misfire like Jeimer Candelario or Mike Moustakas. Either way, the margin for error is thin.
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The setup in New York is a little different from the grind Johnson had in Cincinnati. His new position does not require daily travel with the club, which makes it a more flexible arrangement as he remains part of a major league organization without the full-time demands of a traditional dugout job. For a Reds team moving on from a familiar voice in its pitching room, it is another reminder of how quickly the coaching carousel can turn. [Read more 🡒]