The Cincinnati Reds enter the offseason with a long list of roster questions, and plenty of them start with players already in the room.
Before they even get to outside shopping, the Reds have to sort through option decisions, free agents and arbitration calls that will shape the club’s next step. After a 75-87 season, this isn’t just housekeeping. It’s the kind of work that can reveal how serious the Reds are about building toward 2027.
One of the biggest names on the list is Eugenio Suarez, who has a $16 million mutual option for 2027. That means both sides have to agree to make it happen.
Suarez has already said he wants to return, but that’s only part of the equation. The Reds still have to decide whether that salary is the right place to put their money.
His late surge gave the team something to think about, but it doesn’t erase what came before it. Cincinnati needs more reliable offense, and if it brings back a familiar bat, the payoff has to be more than nostalgia. If either side passes, the option carries no buyout, and the two sides could still work out a different deal.
Emilio Pagan’s call sits in a different lane. His $10 million player option puts the choice in his hands.
If he picks it up, the Reds keep their closer at that number. If he walks, Cincinnati has to either strike a new agreement or look elsewhere for help at the back end of the bullpen.
Either way, the Reds need clarity there.
Pierce Johnson also has an option, a mutual one worth $8 million with a $1 million buyout, and the expectation is that the Reds will almost certainly decline it.
Then there are the players heading toward free agency, including Brady Singer, Tyler Stephenson and Brock Burke.
Singer’s season left the Reds with a hard evaluation. He posted a 5.85 ERA, gave up a league-high 102 earned runs and worked 157 innings, his fewest since 2022.
He did take the ball, and that matters, but Cincinnati needs more than volume. It needs someone who gives it a real chance to win.
A return at a lower price could be on the table, especially with the rotation still unsettled, but the Reds have to be careful about paying for what they got in 2026.
Stephenson is trickier. Letting him leave would create a hole behind the plate, even with Jose Trevino under contract for 2027.
It would sting even more because the Reds already chose not to move him at the deadline. The front office has to balance Stephenson’s asking price against the cost of replacing him and the offense he would take with him.
Trevino brings experience, but his offensive ceiling is limited.
Burke’s season likely priced him beyond what Cincinnati can comfortably match. The Reds have bigger holes to fill, and that means they’ll need to conserve resources for other areas.
Arbitration will bring its own round of decisions, and some of them could reshape the roster in smaller but meaningful ways.
Elly De La Cruz and Andrew Abbott are both entering arbitration for the first time in 2027, and both should be easy tender decisions. Even so, their raises will affect how much the Reds can spend elsewhere.
Nick Lodolo, Spencer Steer and Matt McLain are also in the mix. Lodolo is heading into his final arbitration year before free agency, which turns his case into a bigger organizational question: is he part of the long-term core, a trade possibility, or someone the Reds keep for one more season?
Steer’s late-season injury adds another wrinkle, while McLain’s outlook comes down to what the Reds believe he can still become. He has struggled badly at the plate for two straight seasons, but Terry Francona still believes in him.
Oswaldo Cabrera is another interesting name. The Reds claimed him off waivers late in the season, and team leadership spoke highly of him. He doesn’t really match the offense this team needs, but it would not be a surprise if Cincinnati tenders him a contract anyway.
Taken together, these calls will say plenty about what the Reds want 2027 to look like. Some returns make sense.
Others may not. But after a 75-87 season, the front office has to be honest about where change is needed.
Keeping useful players is one thing. Running back much of the same group and expecting different results is another.
In Other News...
Reds Face One Fascinating Choice In Their Pitching Coach Search
The Reds have spent the last stretch of the season sorting through options for their pitching coach vacancy, and the process has already included interviews with internal candidates. It is the kind of search that can shape a staff for years, especially for a club that has spent plenty of energy trying to stabilize and develop its pitching pipeline.
One name that naturally stands out is Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake, whose contract situation remains unresolved even as New York reportedly intends to keep him after the season. Nothing has been made official yet, which leaves Cincinnati with at least a sliver of possibility if it wants to pursue a bigger swing for the job. For now, the Reds are waiting on a market that could get a lot clearer, or a lot more complicated, before long. [Read more 🡒]
Elly De La Cruz Just Pushed His Breakout Into A Bigger Debate
Elly De La Cruzs rise kept stretching beyond the usual breakout conversation, and now it has landed him on Baseball Americas first-team All-Star Team for the 2026 MLB season. Even with a three-week injury absence, the Reds shortstop put together career-best production across the board, pairing a .283 batting average with 30 home runs and an .880 OPS while giving Cincinnati the kind of middle-of-the-order threat that changes how opponents have to game-plan.
What makes the recognition even more interesting is how the growth showed up beneath the surface, too. De La Cruz improved against left-handed pitching and posted career-best advanced marks in bat speed and exit velocity, which is the kind of profile that tends to fuel a bigger debate about just how high his ceiling really is. For the Reds, the question now is less about whether he broke out and more about where this version of him fits among the games elite. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Fans Have A New Wave Of Prospects Worth Watching Closely
The Reds farm system has a fresh crop of names worth tracking, and the buzz starts with a few teenagers who are already showing traits that can matter down the line. Angel Salio, just 18, has stood out in the Dominican Summer League with his bat and his ability to take the extra base, the kind of early offensive package that gets attention when a player is still years from the majors. On the mound, Stharlin Torres brings a varied pitch mix that gives him a foundation to work with, even if his fastball needs to tick up before the rest of it can fully play.
Angel Nuez adds another layer to the group, and perhaps the most intriguing part is that he is doing it in his first affiliated season. The 17-year-old has already shown signs of being more than a one-dimensional prospect, with hitting, power and defense all showing up in the early report. For a Reds organization trying to build depth and keep the pipeline moving, this is the kind of wave that can make the lower levels worth a close watch for a while. [Read more 🡒]