Big Free Agent Decisions Loom for the Cincinnati Reds | Offseason Breakdown

Big Free Agent Decisions Loom for the Cincinnati Reds | Offseason Breakdown

Big free agent decisions loom for the Cincinnati Reds this off seasonason. Welcome back to Cincinnati Reds Daily. I’m Greg. Thanks for being here. After falling short in 2025, yes, the Reds made the playoffs, but again, they did not win a game in the playoffs, which was disappointing, but at the same time, they did play the Dodgers, who are a really good baseball team. But again, after falling short in 2025, the Reds enter one of the most important off seasons in recent memory. Listen, they got to build on that momentum. They can’t just accept they’re going to be a playoff team and just run it back with the same guys. But which players are staying? Who’s leaving? Where should the Reds spend their money? Let’s break it down. We’re going to go player by player of all the guys um who are free agents or have club options this season. So, let’s start off with Nick Martinez. Nick Martinez is once again a free agent. He accepted the Red’s qualifying offer last year and pitched a career-high 165 innings this season, but did finish with a 4.5 RA with Cincinnati’s starting pitching depth. Green, Lollo, Abbott, Singer, Chase Burns, Rhett Lauder, you have Brandon Williamson coming back, you have Julian Aguiar coming back. It just doesn’t seem like it makes much sense to bring Nick Martinez back at a big number. Um, yeah, he didn’t pitch great, but the starting pitching market is expensive. I don’t think you’re going to be able to sign him as a reliever. He’s going to want more money than that. I expect Nick Martinez to get a deal elsewhere um as a swingman kind of starter reliever. Uh, I think there’s maybe a small chance he could be back, but I would be surprised. The second guy we’re going to talk about today is Wade Miley. This one’s almost a guarantee. Uh, Wade Miley appeared in three games for the Reds this season before an injury ended his season. Um, the Reds are going to move on from Wade Miley. And at age 39, it feels like Miley um might hang it up and retire. That’s just me speculating, but it just seems like it would make sense coming off injuries. as he tried to give it one more go. Coming off Tommy John surgery, it feels like Wade Miley’s going to return. I don’t expect him to be back with the Reds. The third player we’re going to talk about is Amelio Pagan. Um he’s a tough call. He signed a $16 million deal with the Reds for two years two years ago. So he was eight getting paid $8 million a season. Last year dealt with a lot of injuries. This year um he did real solid. He’s been vocal about loving Cincinnati, loving the Reds, loving the organization. He posted a career best season with 32 saves, but he’s also turning 35 next year um in May. And closers with mileage um don’t come cheap. A reunion’s certainly possible, but I’m guessing he’s going to have a price tag that may be too high for the Red’s budget. And I know we’re talking about the Red’s budget, which is frustrating, but I’m just being I’m just speaking candidly and speaking about how the Reds spent the money in the past. Zack Latell is next. Latell came over at the trade deadline and gave the Reds 10 starts, posting a 4.39 RA. He filled a need at the time. The Reds were able to move Nick Martinez into the bullpen, put Latell in the rotation. Um that saved some innings from some guys in the bullpen. Um, Latell ended up starting game two in the playoff series. Like it or not, he did. He pitched fine. He should have been pulled earlier. That’s a whole another conversation. But again, the free agent starting pitching market is expensive. Frankie Monttos went for a ridiculous amount last year and he was not good. So, I could see a small chance that he’s back, but I’d be pretty surprised. because again the Reds have a lot of depth in that position and I don’t think they’re going to spend a ton of money in the free agent starting pitching market. All right, moving on to Miguel Anduhar. He is one of the most intriguing cases of all these guys I’m going to talk about. He came over at the trade deadline from the um A’s. I almost said Oakland A’s. They’re not the Oakland A’s anymore. I don’t think that you call them the Sacramento A’s. I don’t know what they are. They’re the A’s. All he did um was hit in the in a Red’s uniform. The Reds brought him over to hit lefties specifically, and he hit lefties, he hit righties. He um had a 359 average with a 944 OPS in 34 games with the Reds after the trade line. One downside with Andrew is his defense is pretty rough, which basically limited to being only mostly a DH um with the Reds. if the Reds believe his bat is for real and he can continue to be a big, you know, middle impact bat and obviously he’s not going to hit 359 next season if they resign him. But if he could be a solid player, um, and he’s not doesn’t want a huge deal, I think there’s a chance that both sides could try to get um, some kind of deal done. That that one’s going to be interesting. That one’s going to be interesting. All right, next we’re moving on to outfielder Austin Hayes. Austin Hayes has a $12 million mutual option. U mutual options, it feels like they never get picked up. One side wants more, one side wants less. Um but Hayes Hayes played well early. He battled injuries, ended with a 266 average in 103 games. Um he was a nice player for the Reds this this year, but it seems very unlikely that the Reds are going to commit $12 million um for Hayes. I would expect Cincinnati decline that mutual option. Next one, this is another interesting one. I don’t think it impacts the roster a ton if I’m being honest. Bren Sudter um has a $3 million option. I think it’s a I think it’s a mutual option. I believe I think there’s it’s a no-brainer. Brent Sudter would accept that on his side. Listen, Brent Sudter isn’t a guy that’s going to come in in big innings. Um, but he’s a great clubhouse guy and he’ll come in and throw multiple innings saving the bullpen at times. That does have real value during 162 game season. Um, it really comes down to if the Reds think he’s worth $3 million and they want him to be in the major league bullpen. All right, last one here is Scott Barlo. Um Barlo had a really nice season this year. He’s got a $6.5 million option. I think that’s a a club option. Um he he pitched in 75 games for the Reds this season. He, you know, came in time and time again with the bases loaded. He get out of jams. Um Barlo, I think he was pretty much everything you could ask for um him this season. With that being said, $6.5 million for a reliever that wasn’t pitching in the eighth or ninth inning is probably you’re probably not going to want to spend that much money on a reliever um like that with a team like with the or with a team with a budget like the Reds have, I should say. So, unless the Red’s bullpen mark is really thin, I would expect them to decline the $6.5 million option for Barlo. There’s a couple other guys like Santiago Espanol. He’s not a free agent, but I could see them possibly non-tendering. I think he’s going to be due about $4 million. I’m not sure what his role would be on the team next year. You would hope they could upgrade the team enough where you don’t need Espanol on the roster. Um, at $4 million, that’s a lot for how much he plays. Um, but we’ll probably talk about that in another video. So, what’s next? Next, the Red’s front office has to balance payroll flexibility with keeping pieces that matter. I’m guessing they’ll let a lot of these guys walk. Um, and Sudter feel like realistic returns. One thing’s for sure, this off season will shape whether the Reds can take the next step in 2026. And we didn’t even talk about guys that the Reds should go after. Um, we’ll probably do some videos and do some articles about that as the off seasonason goes on. But as always, thank you for being here. If you got it this far, like, subscribe, comment below who you’d like the Reds to resign out of all the names we just listed. Um, make sure you subscribe, hit the notification bell so you get an um, notification every time we post a video. I even pointed up here for you. I don’t know why. Uh, it’s late at night, but anyway, I’ll continue with the Reds. uh coverage all season long, all off seasonason long. Um just because the season’s over, we’re not done here. Thanks for being here. As always, go Reds.

The Cincinnati Reds are officially in offseason mode — and some big free agent decisions are ahead.

From Miguel Andújar’s hot bat, to Emilio Pagán’s price tag, to Austin Hays’ $12 million option… the Reds front office has choices that will shape the 2026 roster.

In this video, we break down:

Which free agents are likely gone 🚪

Who could return 🔄

What the Reds’ strategy should be moving forward 📝

👀 Do you think the Reds should bring back Andújar or let him walk? Comment below with your thoughts!

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