The Reds have a couple of reasons to feel good heading into award season, but the bigger picture still looks messy.
Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart were both named Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger finalists, and each is chasing the award for the first time. De La Cruz is up against Miami Marlins infielder Otto Lopez and Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams. Stewart’s competition features San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. and this year’s NLCS MVP, Jake Bauers of the World Champion Milwaukee Brewers.
De La Cruz has the stronger case on paper after finishing the season on a tear. He closed with a .283/.365/.515 line, 30 home runs, 79 RBI, 30 stolen bases, and a 142 OPS+.
Stewart’s final month went the other direction, but his first five months were so strong that the full body of work still stands out. He finished at .263/.330/.457 with 32 homers, 111 RBI, 15 stolen bases, and a 117 OPS+.
Chase Burns also put together a season that should draw down-ballot votes for the NL Cy Young award. And yet the Reds still wound up with 87 losses, last place in the NL Central, and a 28-game gap behind the division-winning Brewers.
That’s the contradiction hanging over Cincinnati right now. The club has three players who qualify as legitimate stars, but the roster around them simply hasn’t held up.
Outside of De La Cruz, Stewart, and Burns, there isn’t much to hang your hat on. The organization does have some intriguing prospects in Alfredo Duno, Tyson Lewis, and Justin Lebron, but those players are still years away from helping at the major league level.
The roster picture got even thinner with Tyler Stephenson leaving in free agency. On top of that, Hunter Greene is set to miss the entire 2027 season on the IL, which only sharpens the sense that the front office has some hard decisions ahead.
De La Cruz is also a name that keeps coming up in trade chatter. The Boston Red Sox tried to make a move for him at last year’s trade deadline, but were turned away. And the expectation, including from longtime Reds first baseman Joey Votto, is that De La Cruz will be traded before he reaches free agency.
That leaves Cincinnati staring at two very different paths this offseason. The Reds can try to build around their young talent and chase the Brewers and the rest of a strong National League. Or they can deal some of their top pieces - De La Cruz, JJ Bleday, Spencer Steer, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo - and reset with an eye on 2028 and beyond.
One route is more practical, even if it won’t thrill the fan base. The other would require an ownership group that rarely spends big to do exactly that. For now, the Reds appear stuck in the middle, trying to make a plan work that may be nearly impossible.
In Other News...
Reds Bullpen Decision Just Got More Interesting With Francona Weighing In
Emilio Pagns offseason took another turn when he declined his player option with the Reds and headed back into free agency, leaving Cincinnati with a familiar late-inning question to sort through. Terry Francona, though, made clear the door is still open from the clubs side, pointing to Pagns value as a closer and the way he fit in the clubhouse during a season that had its share of uneven stretches.
Pagns 2026 campaign was a reminder of both the risk and the reward that come with bullpen arms. He had a rough start before settling in after returning from injury, and that late surge is part of why the Reds would like to keep the conversation going. For a team trying to stabilize the back end of games, his market now becomes one of the more interesting subplots of the winter. [Read more 🡒]
Sal Stewart Put Cincinnati In Position For Another Rookie Honor
Sal Stewart has put himself in position for another rookie honor, landing among the finalists for the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger award in the utility player category. For Cincinnati, it is another sign that Stewarts first season carried real weight, even if the broader offensive profile does not look quite as polished as some of the other names in the mix.
The competition now shifts to the managers and coaches who will vote in the coming weeks, and Stewarts case is an interesting one. He brings the kind of production that jumps out quickly, while the advanced numbers suggest a more complicated comparison with the rest of the field, leaving the final decision to how evaluators balance raw output against overall offensive efficiency. [Read more 🡒]
Two Reds Bats Just Put Cincinnati In The Silver Slugger Spotlight
Major League Baseballs Silver Slugger finalists list gave the Reds a notable boost, with Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart both landing among the leagues top bats at their positions. De La Cruz is in the shortstop mix, while Stewart earned a spot as a utility finalist, a reminder that Cincinnatis lineup is starting to draw real national recognition beyond just the box scores.
The winners will be determined by MLB managers and coaches, which gives the honor a different kind of weight than a fan vote or a hot streak. For the Reds, having two players in the conversation is the kind of late-season recognition that reflects both star power and lineup depth, with the final call still to come later this month. [Read more 🡒]