The Cincinnati Reds left the 2026 trade deadline with a catching picture that still doesn’t have a clean answer, and the biggest surprise was keeping Tyler Stephenson even though he’s set to hit free agency after the season.
That move leaves the club staring at a straightforward but tricky set of choices. Re-sign Stephenson, go shopping for another catcher in free agency, or hand the job to Jose Trevino as the starter in 2027. For a Reds team that had trouble scoring runs in 2026, the idea of leaning on Trevino as the full-time solution would be a hard one to sell.
What the Reds do not appear ready to do is fast-track Alfredo Duno. Cincinnati’s top minor league prospect is still very much a work in progress, and president of baseball operations Nick Krall made that clear earlier this offseason in comments to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.
“First, I think Duno needs to be a Minor League player," Krall told Sheldon. "He’s a great kid.
He’s made great strides. But he has a lot of work to do, and as a 20-year-old in Double-A, he needs to continue to develop.
We need to make sure we’re not confusing him and rushing him to the big leagues to the detriment of his development."" We need to make sure he’s developing in the Minor Leagues and let him continue to develop, so that way when he gets here, he can be a good Major League player.”
That quote pretty much shuts the door on Duno as a candidate to open the 2027 season behind the plate for Cincinnati. His bat is moving along faster than his defense, and that gap matters.
Right now, Duno is getting winter-ball reps with Leones del Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. Through five games, he’s hit .158/.238/.211 with one extra-base hit. Defensively, he has two assists and no errors.
During the regular season, he committed 11 errors in 79 games catching between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga.
Even so, the belief around him remains positive. Scouts still see a catcher who can stay at the position, and Baseball Savant described him this way: "More athletic than you might think when looking at his strong 6-foot-2 frame, Duno should be able to stick behind the plate, especially if he manages his body well so he can remain agile, and the Reds were happy with his offseason work in this regard," Baseball Savant wrote. "Combine that with his plus arm strength, hard work in all aspects of his game, including learning English, and he has the makings of a big league starting backstop."
That’s the heart of the Reds’ catching situation now: Stephenson is still there for the moment, Trevino remains a possible fallback, and Duno is still climbing. However this gets solved, his development is going to matter a lot to Cincinnati.
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For the Reds, the larger issue remains the same, though, and it is the one that shapes any short-term move behind the plate. The organization still has Alfredo Duno on the horizon, and any decision on a backup catcher seems tied to how long Cincinnati believes it needs a stopgap before its top prospect is ready to step into the majors. [Read more 🡒]
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Reds Prospects Are Creating Two Intriguing Roster Questions This Fall
The Reds have a handful of young players spread across winter-ball assignments, and the early returns are giving the front office a fresh look at some pieces that could matter sooner rather than later. Alfredo Duno is in the Venezuelan Winter League, Ruben Ibarra and Ichiro Cano are in Mexico, and outfielders Noelvi Marte and Carlos Jorge are getting run in the Dominican Winter League, where the development stage keeps moving even after the regular season ends.
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