The Reds made their first big move of the offseason on Wednesday evening, re-signing closer Emilio Pagan to a two-year, $20 million deal.
The deal has a player option at the end of the 2026 season.
Pagan, who will turn 35 in May of next season, spoke to reporters about re-signing with Cincinnati.
“What made it an easy decision was the people in Cincinnati, the coaching staff, the front office, the team. I thoroughly enjoyed the last two years,” Pagan told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “Given where I’m at in my career, there’s a few things that are really important to me. Cincinnati checks all of those boxes. I’m excited to be back.”
The veteran is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, pitching in a career-high 70 games, while saving a career-high 32 games with an ERA of just 2.88.
Pagan also hinted that exciting deals could be on the way for the Reds.
“There’s stuff out there right now that, if those things happen,” Pagán said, “we become a real dangerous team, fast.”
The Reds have been linked to free agent slugger Kyle Schwarber all offseason long, and that could be who he is talking about. If the Reds can land Schwarber after re-signing their closer, the offseason would be a big win.
You can read Sheldon’s full article with more quotes from Pagan here.