The Reds’ Arizona Fall League action got off to an eventful start on Sunday, and it came with a scare for one of their rising outfield prospects.
Carter Graham, playing left field, went up in an attempt to steal a home run in the sixth inning but appeared to get hurt on the play. He left the game afterward. There hasn’t been an update on his condition yet, but the hope is that it’s only a minor issue and he can get back in the lineup soon.
Graham wasn’t a name many Reds fans were talking about before 2026, but that changed after a strong season split between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga. In 126 games, he hit .300/.421/.565 and piled up 61 extra-base hits, including 29 home runs.
At 25, Graham is older than the typical prospect the Reds are evaluating in this setting, which is part of why they wanted to see what he can do in the Arizona Fall League.
The organization’s prospect picture has also shifted in MLB Pipeline’s latest Top 100. The Reds now have only one player on that list: catcher Alfredo Duno. Shortstop Steele Hall had been ranked No. 88 before the update, but he has since fallen out of the Top 100.
MLB.com’s Sam Dystra explained the move this way: "The Reds took Hall ninth overall in 2025 as a long-term project considering he was 17 on Draft Day, and that remains the case," MLB.com's Sam Dystra wrote. "However, he struggled with contact after a late July move from the Arizona Complex League to Single-A Daytona -- for example, his in-zone contact rate was in the low 70s -- and he’ll have to exhibit adjustments at the plate to get back on this list."
Hall was excellent with the ACL Reds, batting .288/.387/.518 with 30 extra-base hits across 58 games, which earned him a jump to Low-A Daytona. The move brought tougher results. In 28 games there, the 18-year-old hit .189/.355/.284 with seven extra-base hits.
Even with that rough stretch, there’s no reason for Reds fans to hit the panic button. The average age in Low-A is almost 21, so Hall is still younger than most of the players he’s facing. His future remains bright.
In Other News...
Reds Pitching Search Could Test Terry Franconas Pull Early
The Reds entered the winter with a pitching staff that needs help on more than one front, and the search for a new pitching coach figures to be one of the first places Terry Franconas influence gets tested. Cincinnatis group is still young, but injuries and uneven performance have left the staff in a tough spot, and the club will be looking for a voice that can steady development while helping clean up results.
One name that fits that profile is Ruben Niebla, the Padres pitching coach, who has a connection to Francona and would bring a strong track record to the job. The complication is that he is under contract through 2027, which makes any pursuit more complicated, and another San Diego option, bullpen coach Ben Fritz, has also surfaced as a logical target after helping guide a strong relief group. [Read more 🡒]
Reds May Be Adding Another Catcher To A Growing Roster Debate
The Reds are already weighing a familiar question behind the plate, and now there is another name to track in the pipeline. A Baseball America scouting report by Ben Badler links Venezuelan catcher Dylan Rodriguez to Cincinnati as a potential signing in the 2027 international signing period, adding a promising young backstop to a system that has made catching a clear area of focus.
Rodriguez is viewed as a prospect with strong offensive upside and defense that is still coming along, the kind of profile that can make a club pause and project. For Cincinnati, it only adds another layer to an existing roster debate, with Alfredo Duno sitting atop the catching prospect board while the big league picture continues to require decisions of its own. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Face A Real Emilio Pagan Decision After His Huge Finish
Emilio Pagns late-season run has given the Reds something they did not have to think much about earlier in the year: a real long-term decision on a bullpen arm who has suddenly made himself expensive. With a player option for 2027 worth $10 million, Pagn now has to weigh the comfort of a guaranteed payday against the possibility that his recent finish and the state of the market could open the door to something bigger.
For Cincinnati, the calculus goes beyond one season and one contract number. Pagns age, the demand for relief pitching and the uncertainty around the next collective bargaining agreement all make this a complicated call, and the Reds will have to be prepared for either path. If he takes the option, he stays. If he declines, the club could be staring at a free-agent market where a strong finish has changed his value in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]