The Reds have a clear offseason question sitting right at the back of the bullpen: who closes games now that Emilio Pagán is a free agent?
Pagán declined his $10 million player option for 2027 on Saturday, putting Cincinnati in position to replace the pitcher who handled the ninth inning for the last two seasons. The need is real, and the timing matters. The Reds saw firsthand this past year how difficult life gets without a steady closer, especially during the two-month stretch when Pagán was out with a left hamstring strain.
That issue is bigger than one inning, too. The World Series champion Brewers once again showed how important a strong bullpen is for a team with postseason ambitions. Eight of the top nine clubs in bullpen ERA made the playoffs this year, a reminder that the relief corps has to hold up its end if a team wants to make a deep run.
Cincinnati’s bullpen did not do that often enough. The Reds finished 25th in the majors with a 4.68 bullpen ERA, and after ending the season last in the National League Central with 75 wins, they have plenty of work to do if they want to get back into the race. A dependable closer is part of that fix, but so is building a better overall relief group to get from the starter to the final out.
There are three obvious paths the Reds could take.
The first is to stay in-house, though the internal options are thin when it comes to pitchers with real closing experience. Cincinnati’s relief group started hot, leading the majors with a 2.23 ERA on April 20, but it unraveled badly after that. From April 21 through the end of the season, the bullpen posted a 5.09 ERA over the final 139 games, which ranked 29th out of 30 teams.
Pagán’s injury on May 5 during an appearance against the Cubs was a major turning point, and he didn’t come back until July 1. Tony Santillan, the team’s top setup man and the club leader with 80 appearances in 2025, had a rough year as well.
He finished with a 6.42 ERA in 44 games, missed 49 games after a left oblique strain in June, and then had surgery in September to repair a labral tear in his left hip. That leaves his status uncertain heading into Spring Training.
Graham Ashcraft logged a 4.08 ERA in 35 appearances and picked up his first professional save on April 19, but he also spent time on the IL with a UCL sprain in his elbow from May 29 to Sept. 6.
Tejay Antone made a remarkable return from a third Tommy John surgery in 2026 and put up a 3.11 ERA in 58 appearances, though his injury history will always make the Reds cautious. Julian Garcia, a 31-year-old rookie who was in independent ball as recently as 2025, gave the club a useful lift with a 3.13 ERA in 33 games after his June 23 debut.
Luis Mey and Zach Maxwell both bring big velocity, but neither has shown enough command yet to be trusted for the long haul in the majors. Mey had a 6.23 ERA in 29 games, while Maxwell posted an 8.31 ERA in 12 games.
If the Reds want to shop outside the organization, there are some recognizable names on the free-agent market, even if the list of true closers is not especially deep. Raisel Iglesias, who spent the last three seasons with the Braves, is one option. The former Reds closer had a 2.55 ERA and 34 saves and made his first All-Star Game in 2026.
David Bednar is another possibility after putting together a 2.47 ERA and 35 saves in 64 appearances for the Yankees. Kenley Jansen remains a veteran presence with 498 career saves across 17 seasons, and he added 22 saves last season for the Tigers. Pete Fairbanks, who had a strong seven-year run with the Rays, struggled with the Marlins last season, finishing with a 6.31 ERA and 19 saves in 46 games.
And then there’s the simplest answer of all: bring Pagán back.
Nothing prevents the Reds and Pagán from working out a new deal, and he was more than just the team’s closer. The 35-year-old was a major clubhouse leader during his three seasons in Cincinnati and served as the club’s dependable ninth-inning option for the last two years.
Pagán’s 2025 season was his best in a Reds uniform, with a career-high 32 saves and a 2.88 ERA in 70 appearances. In 2026, he posted a 3.38 ERA and 25 saves in 45 games, including a dominant finish after his return from the injured list. Over his final 30 games, he went 19-for-19 in save chances and recorded a 1.88 ERA.
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