The Reds are headed into an offseason defined by offense, and that new direction could create a real dilemma behind the plate.
Cincinnati finished last in batting average at .229, on-base percentage at .305 and wRC+ at 91 this season. Among qualified Reds hitters, only Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart posted an OPS above .750. General manager Nick Krall has already said the club is leaning back toward a “hit over power” approach, and he acknowledged that the players at the bottom of the roster simply weren’t good enough to keep the team afloat when the stars were struggling or injured.
That sort of reset figures to put plenty of hitters on thin ice over the next few weeks. But Tyler Stephenson may deserve a different conversation.
Stephenson is a free agent to be, and his bat has taken a step back since his strong 2024 showing. Over the past two seasons, he has struck out in more than 30% of his plate appearances while putting up a league-average wRC+ of 100.
The power has also faded, with back-to-back seasons of 15 or fewer home runs and fewer than 40 extra-base hits. That’s not disastrous production for a catcher, but it’s also not the profile you want soaking up a huge share of the plate appearances if he’s not consistently driving the ball.
The catch is that Stephenson still brings something Cincinnati may have a hard time replacing: trust from the pitching staff.
He isn’t an elite framer, and he doesn’t control the running game like he once did, but the Reds’ young arms clearly believe in him. Chase Burns put up a 2.27 ERA and a 32.4% strikeout rate in 87⅓ innings in 2026 with Stephenson behind the plate, and Andrew Abbott had a 2.73 ERA and a .668 opponent OPS in 108⅔ innings in 2025 with him catching.
Jose Trevino is also regarded as a strong game-caller and a respected defender, but his offense falls even further short of what Cincinnati says it wants. At this point, he looks like a true backup, which is why it makes sense to ask whether the Reds should circle back to Stephenson on a short-term deal.
The long-term answer is supposed to be Alfredo Duno, but the 20-year-old has only 32 games of experience above High-A. He’s not ready to take the full load yet.
And if Cincinnati wants outside help, the options are messy. Ryan Jeffers would likely cost too much, while Austin Hedges and Kyle Higashioka would be offensive downgrades. Carson Kelly could be a possibility if the Reds can get him out of Chicago; his strikeout rate has been under 20% for three straight seasons, but since the start of last year he’s been about as productive as Stephenson.
So the real question is pretty simple: is it worth asking an already young pitching staff to adjust to a new catcher just to gain a little offense? That’s the call Krall and the Reds will have to make as they try to bounce back from a disappointing season.
In Other News...
Reds Face One Big Question In Potential Steven Kwan Pursuit
Steven Kwan has again given Cleveland exactly the kind of steady, line-drive production a contender can lean on, and that is part of why his name is surfacing as a possible fit for the Reds. Cincinnati has spent years talking about contact, quality at-bats and a roster that better matches that approach, so a player with Kwans profile naturally draws attention when the front office starts weighing ways to tighten up the lineup.
The question is whether the Guardians would ever actually move him. Cleveland has shown a willingness to deal players before they reach free agency, which keeps the door open on a trade discussion, but nothing is close to certain right now. For the Reds, the appeal is obvious, yet the cost and timing of any pursuit could make this more of a winter debate than an immediate solution. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Front Office Faces A Make Or Break Offseason After Collapse
The Reds 75-win season left little room for spin, and the front office did not pretend otherwise as it opened up about how far the club fell after its previous postseason run. Phil Castellini and Nick Krall both pointed to the teams shortcomings on the field, from uneven individual performances to a roster that simply did not hold up well enough over the course of the year. For a club that entered the season with hopes of building on its recent progress, the collapse made the offseason feel less like a tune-up and more like a reset.
Now comes the harder part: deciding how to fix it fast enough to matter in 2027. The Reds are staring at a winter filled with roster questions and the possibility that some familiar names may not be around when the next contending window opens. After a season that exposed the distance between where they are and where they want to be, the front office has little choice but to make meaningful improvements instead of hoping internal growth alone will close the gap. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Face A Tough Eugenio Surez Decision After Late Surge
Eugenio Surez gave the Reds enough late in 2026 to make the offseason conversation a real one. After a first year back in Cincinnati that settled into league-average production overall, his second-half power and improved ability to get on base reminded the club why his bat still carries value, even if most of that value remains tied to home runs rather than a broader offensive package.
Now the question is how the front office weighs that against the price tag. Surez and the Reds both have a say in what comes next for 2027, and the expectation around the league is that he will likely push his side forward while Cincinnati looks closely at whether the performance justifies the cost. It is the sort of decision that can look straightforward on paper and a lot trickier when a familiar slugger has just given the team a reason to keep talking. [Read more 🡒]