Tyler Stephenson may be approaching the end of his run as the longest-tenured player on the Reds, and he doesn’t sound like someone bracing for a return.
The 30-year-old catcher is headed for free agency for the first time after the season, and he’s already talking like a player who knows this could be his final homestand in Cincinnati.
“There’s the thought, for sure, that this is the last homestand,” Stephenson said via Charlie Goldsmith. “I was mentally prepared to say goodbye with all of the (trade) deadline stuff.
Maybe not as emotional or anything like that because I thought I was already saying goodbye. It’s still bittersweet.
I’m trying to enjoy each day I have here if it is my last.”
The trade deadline noise clearly got Stephenson thinking, and it makes sense why. Catching help is always in demand, and Cincinnati had every reason to consider dealing him. After seeing what the Baltimore Orioles got for Adley Rutschman, it’s fair to wonder whether the Reds missed their best chance to move him.
Stephenson, for his part, sounded focused on the road ahead. “It’s a huge accomplishment to get to this point in my career.
I’m thankful to make it six years. Some people have said don’t panic.
You’ll hear from some teams sometimes and then you won’t hear anything for a few weeks. They said everything can happen fast.
Once offers do come, it usually happens fast,” Stephenson said while looking ahead.
That doesn’t exactly read like a player talking up a hometown discount. If anything, it sounds like someone preparing for a real market and expecting to get paid.
And that’s where the Reds’ problem starts. They can still try to work out an extension before he reaches the open market, but it would have to match his value. Otherwise, Stephenson looks headed into free agency, where he should draw plenty of attention and a real bidding war.
He’s likely to trail only Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers among available catchers, and teams in need behind the plate won’t be hard to find.
Cincinnati, awkwardly enough, is one of them.
The alternatives are thin. Jose Trevino is a steady defensive backup, though he’s overpaid for that role, and his bat plus some recent fragility make him a shaky answer as a starter.
Will Banfield has put together a good season at Louisville, hitting .262/.309/.425 with 11 homers, but that kind of production is far outside his norm and he looks more like a third catcher than a full-time option. Then there’s Alfredo Duno, the 20-year-old top prospect whose future is bright, but with only 32 games at Double-A, asking him to handle the job now would be a dangerous leap.
Stephenson, by contrast, has been exactly what a contending club wants from a catcher. Outside of 2023, when he was coming back from shoulder surgery and struggled, he has posted wRC+ marks above league average every year of his career.
His defense has also come a long way from the early days when he was shuttled between first base and DH. Now he’s an elite pitch blocker and excellent in ABS challenges.
That kind of player doesn’t come cheap. Stephenson should land a multi-year deal with an eight-figure annual salary, and he’s earned it. The Reds also have money coming off the books this winter, and they should be ready to use a healthy chunk of it to keep him in Cincinnati.
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