CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The Cincinnati Reds concluded a successful season with an 83-79 record, and a return to the postseason for the first time since 2020. They did, however, fail to win a playoff game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. A postseason victory hasn’t been earned since 2012, and a series win was last accomplished in 1995.

A key factor in any team’s success is the performance of players in the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) statistic, which evaluates a player’s overall contribution to the team (offense, defense, base running, pitching, etc.) compared to a replacement-level player at his same position. The higher the WAR, the more valuable the player is considered. Historically, Babe Ruth holds the highest career WAR at 182.6, with other legends like Walter Johnson (167.8), Cy Young (163.6), Barry Bonds (162.8), and Willie Mays (156.2) following closely.

Joe Morgan ranks No. 31 in history at 100.6, Ken Griffey Jr. is No. 58 at 83.8 and Pete Rose is No. 67 at 79.6.

Aaron Judge led MLB with a single-season WAR of 9.7, and he is expected to win the American League MVP award. Los Angeles Dodgers DH and pitcher Shohei Otani had a combined 7.7, placing second overall.

Ideally a team would have many more players in the positive than the negative, and with a WAR number much more than 1.0. For the Reds, only 11 of the 53 players had a WAR of 1.0 or better. There were 12 batters with a positive WAR but 12 batters had negative WAR. Moreover, 17 pitchers had a positive WAR but only seven were negative.

The most valuable Cincinnati player? That would be pitcher Andrew Abbott, who had a 5.6 WAR in 29 starts covering 166 and 1/3 innings. That was the sixth-highest for any hurler in MLB behind Christopher Sanchez (8.0), Paul Skenes (7.6), Tarik Skubal (6.6), Garrett Crochet (6.3) and Hunter Brown (6.1).

The least valuable Reds player was Santiago Espinal at -1.4, which ranked seventh-worst for hitters in all of MLB. The utilityman hit .243 with 16 RBI in 301 at bats. Only Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson and Atlanta Braves shortstop Nick Allen had more at bats this season without a home run.

It should be noted that Reds third baseman Ke’ Bryan Hayes had the fifth-highest defensive WAR in MLB, but he offered little offensively.

THE 2025 CINCINNATI REDS WAR:

5.6 Andrew Abbott4.9 Nick Lodolo4.4 Hunter Greene3.6 Elly De La Cruz3.1 Brady Singer3.0 Tony Santillan2.3 TJ Friedl2.3 Nick Martinez2.0 Emilio Pagan1.4 Noelvi Marte1.3 Tyler Stephenson0.8 Austin Hays0.8 Zach Littell0.7 Austin Wynns0.7 Scott Barlow0.7 Connor Phillips0.6 Miguel Andujar0.6 Will Benson0.6 Spencer Steer0.5 Sal Stewart0.5 Taylor Rogers0.5 Luis Mey0.4 Jake Fraley0.3 Ke’Bryan Hayes0.3 Brent Suter0.3 Graham Ashcraft0.2 Chase Burns0.2 Ian Gibaut0.1 Zach Maxwell0.0 Matt McLain0.0 Ryan Vilade0.0 Randy Wynne0.0 Carson Spiers0.0 Reiver Sanmartin-0.1 Blake Dunn-0.1 Jacob Hurtubise-0.1 Yosver Zulueta-0.1 Wade Miley-0.2 Will Banfield-0.2 Jose Trevino-0.2 Tyler Callihan-0.2 Gavin Lux-0.2 Garrett Hampson-0.2 Lyon Richardson-0.4 Rece Hinds-0.4 Joe La Sorsa-0.4 Alexis Diaz-0.5 Connor Joe-0.5 Sam Moll-0.6 Christian Encarnacion-Strand-0.9 Jeimer Candelario-0.8 Chase Petty-1.4 Santiago Espinal