Photo: Minda Haas Kuhlmann. License here.
The Cincinnati Reds have traded 26-year-old utility man Ryan Vilade to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations. The move opened up a spot on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster, leaving them at a total of 39 players if we include those still on the 60-day injured list, which will cease to exist in the next few days and won’t return as an option to clubs until spring training of 2026.
Ryan Vilade wasn’t in the Reds organization for too long. Cincinnati claimed him off of waivers in the middle of June from the St. Louis Cardinals. He had played in the big leagues in parts of three seasons (2021, 2024, and 2025) but had played in just 27 games during that time and had gone 9-for-64 (.141) with one home run.
Cincinnati optioned Vilade to Triple-A and he spent a week there before the Reds called him up. He spent a little over a week with the big league club but only appeared in one game and never got a chance to step up to the plate before he was optioned back to Louisville on July 4th. He remained there the rest of the season.
Vilade did a little bit of everything on defense. He didn’t catch or play shortstop in 2025, but he played everywhere else during the season. He never had a regular spot on the field, but he was in the lineup nearly every day for the Bats and when he was he hit quite well. Over his 65 games with Louisville he hit .296/.381/.536 with 18 doubles, a triple, and 12 home runs.
Given how well he hit and how many positions he was playing in Louisville but that he never got a single plate appearance with the Reds likely tells us that the organization just didn’t really see much future for him in the big leagues. Whether it was that they didn’t think he could play enough defense for the big league role as a utility guy or that his bat wouldn’t translate enough into the big leagues – there was something that seemed to keep him in the minor leagues.
You can see the career stats for Ryan Vilade here.
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