The Reds are out of the postseason picture, and that means the offseason machine can start humming in Cincinnati. Once the 2026 season ends, the front office will have to sort through a roster with a couple of ugly financial problems sitting on the books for 2027: Hunter Greene and Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Neither contract is an easy fix. Greene is headed for Tommy John surgery and will miss all of next season, which tanks his trade value.
Hayes, meanwhile, has three years left on his deal, and the Reds would be looking at eating the remaining $29 million if they simply cut him loose. Greene’s salary for 2027 will be $15.3 million, and with the cost of finding another starter, that total can climb past $30 million in a hurry.
That’s where the idea of a bad-contract swap comes in. If Cincinnati can find another club stuck with its own financial headache, there’s at least a path to turning one problem into another player - and maybe even coming out ahead.
One possible fit is a deal with the Braves for Sean Murphy. Atlanta has Drake Baldwin in place as its starting catcher, and Murphy has had a rough run there anyway.
He’s played in just 25 games and is hitting .200/.261/.353. Over the last three seasons combined, he’s appeared in only 191 games.
Murphy opened 2026 on the injured list after offseason hip surgery, then missed nearly three months after breaking a finger in mid-May. Hip, hamstring, rib and oblique injuries have all piled up over the last three years.
For Cincinnati, the appeal is obvious: Tyler Stephenson is set to hit free agency this winter, and the Reds need a new catcher. Murphy has $30 million left on his contract through 2028, plus a club option for 2029.
The framework is there, though Greene’s upside might mean Cincinnati would have to add more to get it done.
A Red Sox swap for Jarren Duran makes a lot more sense on paper. Boston was interested in Greene at the trade deadline this past summer, and the financial piece lines up even with Greene unavailable for 2027.
The Red Sox could handle Greene’s $16.3 million salary for 2028 and his $21 million club option for 2029. In return, Cincinnati could target Duran, who has fallen out of favor in Boston because of the team’s crowded outfield.
Duran got down-ballot MVP votes in 2024, and while his .256/.332/.442 line last season drew some mixed reactions, he still posted his third straight year with an OPS+ above 110. He’s under team control for two more seasons, and after making $7.7 million in 2026, his arbitration price tag shouldn’t jump much.
For the Reds, he fits the bill as a change-of-scenery candidate.
Then there’s the wild one: Hayes to the Yankees for Giancarlo Stanton. It sounds outrageous, but the money actually makes it at least discussable.
Stanton hasn’t played in a major league game since April 24 because of two separate calf injuries, and he still has more extra-base hits than Hayes. He’s entering the final year of the 13-year, $325 million extension he signed with the Marlins, and he’s owed $25 million next season.
Because the Marlins are paying $10 million annually for the final three years, the Yankees are only on the hook for $15 million. That’s still $4 million less than the Reds owe Hayes.
The catch is that New York already has Ryan McMahon, another glove-first, light-bat third baseman, so a deal would require some creative maneuvering from both sides. The odds are long, but when you run through the bad contracts around the league, Stanton is the one that at least makes sense on paper.
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