CINCINNATI (WXIX) – While the Cincinnati Reds need more punch in their lineup, need a platoon piece who can crush left-handed pitching and need more depth in the infield and in center field, a team working with $15-to-20 million of payroll flexibility this winter can only afford to do so much.
The Reds’ biggest needs this winter are in the bullpen.
Closer Emilio Pagán, Swiss Army knife Nick Martinez, durable veteran Scott Barlow and Brent Suter are free agents.
Heading into 2026, Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft will be in the Reds’ bullpen. Connor Phillips looked the part last September and is a safe bet to open next year in MLB. Zach Maxwell, Luis Mey, Lyon Richardson, Yosver Zulueta and Keegan Thompson could compete for one, two or three spots.
The number of spots open to competition will come down to how the Reds approach free agency — do they add bulk and depth, or do they make a push for one of the better leverage options?
The bullpen needs some help this winter. It’s the most important area that the Reds’ front office will have to address.
The problem is that in the MLB free agent reliever market, you really never know what you’re going to get. Of the 15 highest-paid relievers last season, 11 were busts, had injuries, nightmare seasons or just faced a natural year-over-year decline.
Meanwhile, former Reds Jeff Hoffman and Luke Weaver are good examples of how a standout reliever can emerge out of nowhere with a new team in a way that nobody saw coming.
The Reds have done a pretty good job of finding value in the bullpen over the last few years. The Reds ranked fourth in bullpen WAR in 2025, ninth in 2024 and first in 2023.
The big debate between now and Opening Day will be figuring out who’s going to close for the 2026 Reds. Pagán (34 years old) wasn’t a perfect last year, but he was a borderline All-Star on a good contract who set himself up well heading into free agency this winter. Everyone loves Pagán, but the Reds can only afford to do so much this winter.
If there’s not able to bring Pagán back on a deal that works with their budget, they’ll need to find the next Pagán.
Santillan is a very viable candidate to close in 2026. But he’s also so valuable in his current role, pitching in the most high-leverage spots or in the eighth inning. He has also never been a closer before (outside of a week in 2022).
Here are the top relief candidates potentially in the Reds’ price range (salary projections from ESPN)
Tier 1: (Edwin Díaz), Devin Williams, Robert Suárez, Emilio Pagán, Luke Weaver, Ryan Helsley (projected around $11-15+ million per season).
The boldest and riskiest move the Reds could make this winter is pushing their financial chips in for a true closer. That type of move would go against what the Reds’ strategy has been toward assembling their bullpen in recent years. But these are the best guys on the market who could realistically fit into the Reds’ payroll. Signing one of them would also hamstring their ability to build bullpen depth or add to the lineup.
The most enticing option on this list is buying low on Helsley and betting that you can turn him back into the elite closer that he has shown that he can be, but many teams probably have that same idea.
Pagán will have a ton of interest as a rare pitcher who has proven to be a good closer but is just as willing to pitch in any role for your team.
Tier 2: Make a splash
Kyle Finnegan (3.47 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 24 saves in 2025, All-Star in 2024, $10.5 million per season).
A plug and play closer. After the trade deadline in 2025, he potentially leveled up. How much teams are buying Finnegan’s second-half adjustment being the start of something will determine how much of a bidding war there is.
Pete Fairbanks (2.83 ERA, 8.8 K/9, Rays’ closer for the last three years).
The Rays declined his $11 million for 2026, which signals that he could be available for less than that.
There aren’t many pitchers who are consistent and reliable enough to be a team’s closer for three uninterrupted seasons, and that’s a big feather in Fairbanks’ cap that will make him a desirable option on this free agent market. He throws really hard, and he does a terrific job of limiting hard contact (barrels) that can turn into homers. He’s my favorite one of the options in this tier, if the Reds are operating in this pricier range.
Tyler Rogers (1.98 ERA in 81 appearances).
He’ll have a huge market as one of the best setup guys in MLB.
Seranthony Dominguez (3.16 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 12 postseason appearances with Toronto, closing experience in 2024 and 2022).
He generally stays healthy, he’ll take the ball, he has plenty of postseason experience and he has pitched in a wide variety of roles and he can strike guys out. He can also be very volatile. He had one of the worst walk rates in baseball last year while leading the league in wild pitchers, but he also struck out guys and got swing and miss at an elite level. He’d definitely be a different look in the Reds’ bullpen.
***A Nick Martinez interlude***
There’s no stat that sums up Martinez’s value in 2024 and 2025. He’ll save your pitching staff with his consistency, versatility, availability and impact changeup. He’ll make a big difference on any team in baseball. Also, when he really got to pin his ears back pitching consistently in a high-leverage relief role in September, he leveled up.
An underrated concern right now is the Reds’ starting pitching depth. It’ll be Chase Burns’ second year of pro ball. Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson and Julian Aguiar just missed an entire season. Chase Petty and Jose Franco are intriguing, but they’re not top prospects. That’s it, and the Reds are also losing No. 5 starter Zach Littell.
If there’s a bidding war for Martinez, there are also two free agent pitchers with similar versatile profiles. ESPN projects Martinez to make $15 million next year.
Mike Soroka was a popular trade target around MLB at the deadline last year (it didn’t really pan out for him post-deadline in Chicago due to a shoulder injury). If he’s healthy, he has the ideal combination of getting strikeouts and limiting barrels at strong clips. He has a tricky slurve. He could be the next Martinez if the Reds feel the need to replace that skill set.
Another option is former Red Michael Lorenzen has been a starter for most of the last few years, but he also moved to the bullpen for the postseason in 2023 and 2024. You can never have enough starting pitching depth, and Lorenzen has made 24+ starts over the last three years while showing that he can stay healthy. How open is he to pitching in relief for a significant chunk of the season?
Zach Littell also fits in this group, but he has proven to be a much better fit as a starter than as a reliever.
Tier 4: Middle of the pack (price points and tiers in this range are always tough to predict due to the volatility of the free agent reliever market, but they’d likely make less than the players listed above).
Raisel Iglesias (former Red, true closer, 3.21 ERA in 2025 with 9.8 K/9, $9 million per year projection).
While his velocity dropped last year, the underlying metrics paint a rosy picture as he got a lot of chase and swing and miss while generally limiting hard contact (his home run rate still did double in 2025).
What does it mean that even though he was an expiring contract on a bad team last July and Iglesias was an obvious trade candidate, teams around baseball weren’t willing to meet the Braves’ price point for a potential move?
Also, he’s a guy who has to pitch the ninth inning and limits your overall bullpen flexibility.
Kenley Jansen (2.59 ERA, 8.7 K/9, true closer).
More of a top-30 closer at this stage of his career than the elite closer than he used to be, Jansen still has a very long track record of posting and getting the job done in the ninth. He won’t get shaken by the moment At this stage, the flaws in his game (hard contact on pull side fly balls, walks) make him the style of pitcher who has been less sought after over the last few years.
Phil Maton (2.79 ERA with 11.9 K/9, $10 million projection).
His versatility, availability and elite advanced metrics in many areas (average exit velocity, whiff rate, strikeout rate, barrel rate) make him the type of reliever that every contending team will probably try to make a push for. He has historically been more of a middle reliever than a leverage reliever — does that work for a Reds team looking for a leverage piece?
Shawn Armstrong (2.31 ERA, 71 appearances, 9 K/9)
After he was waived and released twice in 2024, he’s the classic example of a strong reliever appearing out of nowhere. How much do you buy into a breakout year like that?
He’s ranked as one of the top middle relievers on the market with a four-pitch mix that includes a sweeper which was ridiculously effective in 2025. He was incredibly hard to hit last year, but he also doesn’t have a huge recent track record in leverage moments.
Brad Keller (2.07 ERA in 67 appearances with the Cubs, projected $11 million)
As a failed starter who saw something really click in the bullpen in 2025, his best bet on this free agent market might be following the trend where pitchers like this sign with a team that gives them another opportunity to start.
Tier 5: A bit of a chance
Kirby Yates (5.23 ERA in 2025, 1.17 ERA in 2024 with 33 saves).
The 38-year-old signed a big one-year deal with the Dodgers in 2025 that turned out to be a bust. Do you bet and buy low on a reliever in this stage of his career with the idea that he’ll be healthier in 2026?
Yates still posted elite strikeout and whiff rates in 2025 due to a four-seam/splitter two-pitch mix where both options generate consistent swing and miss. In 2024, he was also one of the hardest-to-hit pitchers in all of MLB (he did allow a lot more barrels in 2025).
Paul Sewald (4.58 ERA in 22 games in 2025, 9.2 strikeouts per nine, 10 total homers allowed over the last two seasons).
Sewald he checks a lot of boxes. He should be affordable (he was on a $7 million contract last year), but teams also seem to line up for him at the deadline every summer because of what he brings to the table.
The 35-year-old has plenty of leverage experience, having served as the Mariners’ closer for several years and later closing for the Diamondbacks during their run to the World Series in 2023. Sewald has 86 career regular season saves.
Sewald still posted some nice underlying metrics last season. He limited hard contact, got a good amount of swing and miss and chase, commanded the baseball and had a low hard-hit rate (the barrel rate, however, wasn’t good). His extension is still right about what it was in 2023, which is a good sign.
One thing to note is that Sewald missed time during the middle of last season with a shoulder sprain. But on the whole in his career, he has done a good job of staying healthy.
If I were doing a mock Reds’ offseason, I’d have them signing Sewald and Hoby Milner
Tyler Kinley (3.96 ERA in 73 appearances last year between Colorado and Atlanta).
I wasn’t previously familiar with Kinley, who has spent essentially his entire big league career as a middle reliever on the Rockies and has suffered from pitching in Coors Field. He was dealt to the Braves at the deadline, and he posted a 0.75 ERA in 24 appearances in Atlanta.
He might be a diamond in the rough.
For the bulk of his big league career, while his ERA wasn’t pretty, his underlying metrics were solid. There’s a foundation of Kinley doing a solid job of getting whiff and limiting barrels. He uses his slider nearly two-thirds of the time, and he also really spins his fastball.
He feels like a right-handed Sam Moll, except without such extreme left-right splits.
Post trade deadline, Kinley cut back his fastball usage even further and leaned further in his curveball as his go-to tool to change speeds. He had success getting strikeouts with that curveball as the 34-year-old made significant improvements.
Scott Barlow (4.21 ERA, 75 appearances, leverage experience).
In this tier of free agency, it’s a big success to find a pitcher who did exactly what Barlow did for the Reds in 2025.
THE LEFTIES
Last winter, the Reds showed how important it was for them to have multiple impact left-handed options when they took on $6 million to add Taylor Rogers in a deal with the Giants. Sam Moll had a strong 2024 season in his specialist role, and the Reds felt good about what they had entering 2025.
Rogers went on to be terrible with the Reds, and Moll went on to spend most of the year in Triple-A. Then, during the season, the Reds lost advantages on a nightly basis because they couldn’t play the platoon game with their bullpen in the cat-and-mouse game against their opponent.
“You always want left-handed pitchers in the bullpen,” Nick Krall said last week. “It’s really important. It gives you options late in a game.”
Because the Reds also need a left-handed reliever or two, maybe the Reds mix and match by getting a lower-tier right-handed reliever who could pitch in leverage situations and save more of their resources to land a left-handed reliever who’s in a slightly higher tier.
The Reds don’t have a standout left-handed relief prospect in the upper levels of their system.
Here are a few notable free agent left-handed relief options.
Caleb Ferguson (3.58 ERA in 70 appearances).
Elite against left-handed batters (.465 OPS), Ferguson leveled up in 2025. After signing a $3 million deal with the Pirates last winter, Ferguson became a valuable left-hander on the trade deadline market this summer (he went to the Mariners) and now hits free agency. He’s built for GABP and posted top-of-the scale barrel rates and hard hit rates allowed. He forces a ton of weak contact, and he has done a good job of cutting his walk rate down. Ferguson had a role on the Dodgers in 2023, the Yankees in 2024 and consistently pitches 60+ games.
Anthony Kay
There’s a long list of pitchers who have gone over to Japan, returned to the big leagues and had success (one of them is Nick Martinez). Kay, who has the versatility to start and pitch in relief, has spent the last two years abroad and is now considered a borderline top-50 free agent. He throws five pitches and gets a ton of ground balls.
Drew Pomeranz (2.17 ERA in 57 appearances)
He went from not pitching in the big leagues between 2022 and 2024 to being rock solid for the Cubs all of last season. The 36-year-old killed the Reds with a 1.69 ERA in six appearances, and the Cubs seemed to build their game plan around having him face the top of the Reds’ lineup (he even made an appearance as an opener). He really stood out seeing him in person, and he did a great job of striking guys out with both his fastball as well as his knuckle curve. I like this guy. He has 12 years of big league experience, but his hiatus between 2022 and 2024 makes him a more affordable pitcher.
Danny Coulombe (2.30 ERA in 55 appearances)
The Reds have acquired pitchers like this before on the relief market. He just consistently gets outs and limits hard contact at a very high level, and he has done a great job of being available over the last three years. He’s one of the softest throwers in MLB, but his five pitch mix gives him answers.
Hoby Milner (3.84 ERA in 73 appearances)
Strong versus left-handed hitters in 2025 (.526 OPS), Milner has also averaged 68 appearances over the last four years. That makes him a very safe option on the free agent market. He forces a ton of ground balls, limits hard contact and has a classic sinker/slider mix. He doesn’t get any swing and miss, but his reliability makes him a potential great fit for the Reds.
Jalen Beeks (3.77 ERA in 61 appearances)
He was very affordable ($1.25 million) on the market last winter, gets lefties and righties both out, held lefties to a .611 OPS last year, gets a good amount of swing and miss and gets a good amount of ground balls. The 32-year-old isn’t splashy, but he has gone on to become a solid bullpen piece over the last four years and also has a dash of closing experience.
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