ORLANDO — At the end of last season, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona told the team to remember the feeling of popping champagne and the thrill of making it into the postseason. He also told them to remember the feeling of “getting beat up in two quick games and getting sent home before you want to.”
The Reds won 83 games during the regular season and went to Los Angeles Dodgers for the playoffs where the Reds lost consecutive games against the eventual World Series champs.
Heading into 2026, Francona said that he’s looking for the Reds to stay on an upward trajectory. He said that he doesn’t want the 2025 Reds to be looked back on as a feel good story and instead be the start of something bigger.
The Reds have work to do to make that happen, starting with the fact that the lineup has to be better than it was last year.
The topic on everyone’s mind (and the first thing anyone asks you about the Reds here at the winter meetings this week) is Kyle Schwarber.
“He’s a really good player, and he’s a really good kid,” Francona said. “He has a great reputation. Other than that, I’d like to leave it to him to speak about whatever he wants to because that’s the most respectful way to handle it.”
Schwarber would be a perfect fit for the Reds, assuming the front office would be able to complete a creative set of maneuvers to make the largest free agent contract in team history a reality. From Schwarber’s perspective, he’d have to put tangible value in coming home and the unique opportunity the organization could sell him on during what would project to be a pretty strong market for Schwarber’s services.
The Reds’ interest in Schwarber is real, but it doesn’t sound like anything is imminent right now. There are plenty of big market teams who would likely love to have him, including Schwarber’s most recent team in the Phillies.
With or without Schwarber, the offense needs to be better.
“That’s what happens when you have a younger team,” Francona said. “You hope the trajectory is still going up.”
When asked why the Reds’ offense can be better in 2026, Francona started by pointing to Spencer Steer.
Francona went through how Steer, dealing with a shoulder injury, should have started last year on the IL. He was limited to DH-ing, and he hit .111 with a .390 OPS over the first three weeks of the season. Once he was able to play the field, he hit .253 with a .762 OPS, which would have ranked third on the team over the course of a full season.
“Hopefully we have that guy from the get go,” said Francona, who will be open to playing Steer at first base and in the outfield depending on the makeup of next year’s roster.
Next, Francona points to Matt McLain, who was coming off of a major surgery. When you talk to people around baseball, you always hear that those injuries take more than a year to really come back from.
“I know I was stubborn early on with him,” Francona said. “It’s because I believed in him so much. I still do. There’s a really good player there. I think a year removed from that shoulder (surgery) I think we’ll see that.”
Elly De La Cruz was hitting .284 with a .854 OPS at the All-Star break. In the second half of the year, he hit .236 with a .666 OPS. He was hurt, dealing with a strained quad. Francona didn’t give De La Cruz a single day off.
“There were a lot of things going on,” Francona said. “I need to take responsibility, and I have and I will. I need to find ways to get him off his feet from time to time. I didn’t do a very good job of that. I own up to that.”
Francona said that De La Cruz gets beat up so much by playing hard (sliding, taking extra bases) that getting the day game after a night game off might be really helpful for him on occasion.
Francona also puts TJ Friedl in that group. Friedl was an All-Star candidate for a while last season, but his production fell off as he posted a .693 OPS after July 1.
Francona praised Friedl for playing as much as he did last season, making 148 starts in center field. There were times where the Reds simply didn’t have a backup center fielder on the roster.
The Reds need more consistent center field depth in 2026. That could come with a more consistent year from Will Benson, who hasn’t been an impact defender in center but can man the spot. It also could come from an addition.
Francona has also asked Noelvi Marte to shag fly balls in center field. Even if Marte doesn’t play there, it’s good to work on chasing fly balls down from both sides.
Sal Stewart should play a bigger role than he did last year. Back in spring training, before Stewart had even made his Double-A debut, Francona called Stewart one of the most advanced young hitters he had seen. Stewart went on to have a great year at the plate, including a playoff game against the Dodgers where he had two hits and drove in three runs.
“We love, love the hitter,” Francona said.
He later said, “Where his game goes defensively, we’re still trying to figure that out.”
Stewart can play first, third and second base.
“I talked to him at length (after the season) about being agile,” Francona said. “People talk about his weight. I don’t want to talk about your weight.”
Francona’s main focus is Stewart becoming even more athletic. Recent social media posts from Stewart (who turned 22 yesterday) show his physical development this offseason.
Recently, Freddie Benavides went to Miami to work with Stewart on his first base defense.
Francona said “we’ll see” where Stewart plays in 2026.
Looking at the infield, McLain will be at second, De La Cruz will be at short and Gold Glove winner Ke’Bryan Hayes will most likely play third (Stewart can also play there). Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino are the catchers.
Noelvi Marte is the Reds’ right fielder. Francona said, “We want Marte to play. We all think he’s going to be a pretty good right fielder.” Friedl is solid in center.
Left field, DH and first base are the questions. The Reds have internal options at each position, and there are also options on the free agent and trade markets.
Francona said, “What we do in left is to be determined. So often, one signing sets it off.”
If Steer plays first, Gavin Lux has experience in left field (he’s a native infielder). Will Benson should get a chance to compete for a role.
If the Reds sign a first baseman, Steer could play left. If they sign a left fielder, Steer or Stewart could play first with the other DHing along with Lux. If they land Schwarber (a DH), Steer could play left and Stewart could play first.
The versatility on the roster gives the Reds the ability to explore a variety of options.