The Cincinnati Reds have been busy this offseason, particularly when it comes to bolstering their bullpen. They've made a few additions to the lineup as well, but with the offensive inconsistencies that plagued them last season-and some key bats no longer in the mix-it’s clear there’s still work to be done.
One name that’s resurfaced in the rumor mill? Miguel Andújar.
Andújar joined the Reds at the 2025 trade deadline and made an immediate impact. In just 34 games with Cincinnati, he slashed an impressive .359/.400/.544, racking up 11 extra-base hits.
That kind of production, even in a small sample, turned some heads. After the season, he hit free agency, and according to a report from Jon Heyman, the Reds are among the teams now showing interest in bringing him back.
Andújar’s 2025 campaign, split between Oakland and Cincinnati, was his most productive since his breakout rookie season in 2018 with the Yankees. Across 94 games, he posted a .318/.352/.470 line-his best showing in years. That’s a major turnaround for a player who, from 2019 through 2023, struggled to stay on the field and in the lineup, appearing in just 144 games total during that span and posting a disappointing .616 OPS.
In 2024, he began to show signs of life again with the A’s, hitting .285 with a slightly above-league-average OPS+ of 103 over 75 games. But it was in 2025 that he really started to look like the hitter who once finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He made consistent contact, striking out just 14.4% of the time, and his .348 BABIP-while high-was backed by solid at-bats and a renewed ability to drive the ball.
Still, there are reasons for caution. Andújar turns 31 this spring, and the advanced metrics suggest his 2025 numbers may have been a bit inflated.
According to Sports Info Solutions, he was the second-luckiest hitter in baseball last year. His expected OPS was 123 points lower than his actual OPS, coming in at just .699.
That’s a significant gap and raises the question: was last season a resurgence, or just a hot streak?
There’s also the matter of fit. Andújar has primarily played left field and third base, with only limited time at first base and right field-just 21 career starts between those two spots.
At third, he’s likely buried on the depth chart behind Ke’Bryan Hayes and Sal Stewart. Stewart, expected to be the team’s primary DH, further complicates things.
In left field, Andújar would face stiff competition from JJ Bleday, Will Benson, and Spencer Steer, not to mention a group of young, high-upside players like Tyler Callihan, Blake Dunn, Rece Hinds, and Hector Rodriguez.
So where does that leave him?
For Cincinnati, it comes down to value. If the price is right, bringing Andújar back as a depth piece with offensive upside could make sense.
But if he’s fielding similar offers elsewhere, he might find a clearer path to playing time with another club. And from the Reds’ perspective, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s enough room on the roster-and in the lineup-to justify a competitive offer.
Still, in a lineup that could use a few more proven bats, Andújar presents an intriguing option. The bat showed real signs of life in 2025. The question now is whether that version of Andújar is here to stay-and whether Cincinnati is the right place for him to prove it.