The Reds may be staring at a likely October miss, but they still hold a pretty sharp blade in the final stretch of the 2026 season.
Cincinnati’s year has gone from promising to disappointing in a hurry. The club got out to a strong start, then watched it unravel, leaving it 67-73 and well behind the pack. Sal Stewart remains the likely NL Rookie of the Year, but that hasn’t been enough to keep the Reds in realistic postseason position.
Still, September gives them a different kind of power. As Theo DeRosa of MLB.com pointed out, Cincinnati’s closing schedule is loaded with teams fighting for October spots or better seeding, which means the Reds can turn into a spoiler.
“The Reds' next 19 games are all against National League contenders, giving Cincinnati every opportunity to shake up the playoff picture,” DeRosa writes.
The Reds sit 19.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, so the NL Central is out of reach. They are also 6.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final Wild Card spot, which leaves the door cracked but only barely. A comeback is still technically on the table, just wildly unlikely.
What makes Cincinnati dangerous is the schedule. The Reds open with a three-game series against the Brewers in Cincinnati, and a strong showing there could put Milwaukee’s division lead under pressure. After that comes a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are trying to stay positioned for a bye.
Then the calendar gets even more crowded with high-stakes matchups. The Reds will see the Brewers again for three games and the Dodgers again for a four-game set, creating a stretch where Cincinnati could inflict real damage on both teams.
The run finishes with a three-game home series against the Chicago Cubs, then a three-game road trip against the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. Every opponent on that path is chasing something meaningful.
And if the Reds finish September with a winning record, along with their two wins over the San Diego Padres, another postseason contender, they could end up making life messy for a lot of clubs as the 2026 season winds down.
In Other News...
Josh Hader Just Reopened A Brewers Debate Fans Never Forgot
Josh Haders latest comments brought an old Brewers conversation back to the surface, the kind of one that never quite disappears in Milwaukee. Now pitching for the Astros and under contract there through 2028, the former Brewers closer said in a recent interview that he hopes he might someday return to the organization he left in a 2022 trade. It is the sort of reflection that tends to land differently when a player has stayed productive, and Hader has done exactly that with Houston this season.
Even after moving on from him and several other star arms in recent years, the Brewers have kept building around a bullpen that remains one of the clubs strengths. Haders comments do not change the present-day reality, but they do reopen a familiar debate for fans who still remember what he meant to the team before the trade. For now, the path back is anything but simple, but the possibility alone is enough to stir a little nostalgia in Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Woodruff Suddenly Has Plenty Riding On This Brewers Comeback Bid
The Brewers have managed to keep their rotation afloat even after losing Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff to injury, but Woodruffs situation carries a different kind of weight. The right-hander, who has long battled shoulder issues, recently started a five-week throwing program as he works toward a possible return this season, giving Milwaukee at least a flicker of hope that his comeback bid might still matter down the stretch.
There is also a bigger picture here for a pitcher who is only under contract through this year. Pat Murphy has already floated the idea that Woodruff could still help the Brewers in 2026, even in a relief role, which makes this recovery more than a simple late-season rehab watch. For Milwaukee, the next few weeks are about more than getting another arm back, because what happens next could shape how much of Woodruffs future remains tied to the club. [Read more 🡒]
Andrew Fischers Power Surge Comes With One Big Brewers Question
Andrew Fischer has forced his way into the conversation with one of the loudest seasons in the Brewers system, crushing 44 home runs at Double-A while posting a .270/.402/.647 line. The power is impossible to miss, and for a player in Milwaukees pipeline, that kind of production naturally gets attention from a fan base always looking for the next impact bat.
The bigger question is whether the rest of Fischers game is ready to travel with him. He has struck out 177 times, a 34.2% strikeout rate that has plenty of evaluators wondering how much of that pop will hold up against big-league pitching, which helps explain why he has not yet been promoted or landed on MLB.coms top-100 prospects list. Fans can see the obvious upside, but the Brewers appear content to stay patient and let their development plan answer the hardest part of the scouting report. [Read more 🡒]