CINCINNATI (WXIX) – JJ Bleday has a few things in common with corner outfielders who have been on the Reds in some recent seasons.
Similar to Austin Hays, Bleday was viewed as a bounce-back candidate on the free agent market. Bleday’s skill set has some similarities with Jake Fraley’s and Tyler Naquin’s. Bleday is a left-handed hitter who has gone hot and cold during his career. When he’s hot, he’s an impact starter. When he’s cold, he has been benched or optioned.
Bleday’s MLB career looks a lot like Will Benson’s. They were each former first-round picks who were traded shortly after their big league debuts, posted a great first full season in the big leagues and then took a significant step back during the following season.
A year ago, Bleday was the type of player who you could have easily envisioned the Reds dealing an established starting pitcher for. But now, he’s a buy low free agent who the Reds are betting on bouncing back.
On Saturday, the Reds agreed to terms with the 28-year-old outfielder who has spent most of his career with the Athletics. Bleday will get a chance to compete for an every day role in Cincinnati. According to MLB dot com, the deal is for $1.4 million.
McLain is expected to be the Reds’ primary second baseman, Elly De La Cruz is at short and Hayes is the primary third baseman. Noelvi Marte is in right and TJ Friedl is in center. The “battles” will mostly be at first base, left field and DH.
With the current makeup of the roster, that competition will likely be with guys like Gavin Lux, Spencer Steer, Sal Stewart, Benson and Bleday for three spots in the lineup.
Because of Steer’s flexibility, the Reds have some options. Their best offensive lineup is with Steer in left, Stewart at first and Lux at DH. Their best defensive lineup has Bleday in left and Steer at first.
Bleday debuted with the Marlins in 2022, was traded to the Athletics entering 2023 and had his first full year in MLB in 2024. In that season, Bleday posted a 2.1 WAR, a well above-average .762 OPS and hit 20 homers (he played in a pitcher’s park and would have hit 31 homers in GABP).
In 2024, Bleday generally made good swing decisions, worked a good amount of walks, had success pulling the ball down the line and was great at hitting the fastball. He firmly established himself as a part of the Athletic’s young core, and Bleday statistically graded out as one of the most impactful center fielders in all of MLB.
Even in that great year, there was inconsistency. While Bleday was terrific in May and August, he also posted a .683 OPS in June and a .599 OPS between September and October.
His poor finish to the 2024 season carried over into 2025. Bleday lost his starting job early on last season, and then he was optioned to Triple-A in late May. He was called back up in early June but then was optioned again at the end of the month.
Athletics GM David Forst told reporters that Bleday needed to reset and find a rhythm at the plate. Manager Mark Kotsay said at the time that Bleday felt like he had too many voices in his ear telling him different things about his approach at the plate, which overcomplicated his slump.
Bleday was called back up in early August and posted a strong .801 OPS over the final two months of the season, but it wasn’t enough for Bleday to hold onto a spot with the Athletics moving forward. Bleday finished the 2025 season with a .698 OPS and -.3 WAR in 98 big league games. He was DFAd in November leading up to the non-tender deadline.
Signing a free agent like Bleday is a classic small market maneuver. There were more established and reliable options on the free agent board like Mike Yastrzemski ($11.5 million per year), Adolis Garcia ($10 million), Cedric Mullins ($7 million), Rob Refsnyder ($6.2 million) and Lane Thomas ($5 million), but the Reds front office has had to work on a budget.
All along, Nick Krall has said that the Reds’ payroll in 2026 will be around what it was in 2025. That gave the Reds about $1-to-5 million to work with leading up to the Bleday signing. Bleday’s upside is probably the highest of any free agent position player in this price range because of his tools and his track record from 2024, but the risk is that he’s also a player whose downside had him in Triple-A for 28 games last season. The risk is that he’s a CES-type who hit the rookie wall and never bounced back.
In an ideal world, you’re able to bolster your depth with pieces like Bleday while also adding to the top of your lineup during the offseason. The Reds prioritized the back of their bullpen this winter by re-signing Emilio Pagán and adding Caleb Ferguson, which has them being more creative on the position player side.
While reporters haven’t spoken to Bleday yet, a part of the appeal for him to Cincinnati was probably a realistic chance to play. Guys in this position — like Austin Hays was in last year — typically put a lot of value in the opportunity to get at-bats in their attempt to tap back into the upside they’ve previously shown.
Is this it for the Reds’ offseason? They don’t have much to spend or much to trade. The Reds will likely keep evaluating the trade market, and deals can pop up out of nowhere. At this point last year, no one would have expected that the Reds two weeks away from Gavin Lux from the Dodgers. But on the whole, the Reds don’t have a ton of surplus on their roster or farm system (there are a few exceptions).
Moving forward, the one wide open spot in the lineup is the right-handed platoon partner for Lux/Benson/Bleday (Bleday has actually been OK against LHP).
Blake Dunn could compete for that role in the spring. If the Reds feel like their final step in this offseason is filling this role, maybe they’re able to get a deal on a free agent platoon piece like Miguel Andujar, Randal Grichuk or Austin Slater or Hays (who would likely cost a bit more) or land an intriguing minor league free agent.
The Reds are also a bit thin at second base (the Reds cut Santiago Espinal, and Lux and Steer represent the second base depth right now). There’s a decent amount of right-handed infielders who could be a super utility guy in 2026 (Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Dylan Moore, Paul DeJong, etc). Or, that piece of depth could also just develop from within from a player like Edwin Arroyo, Leo Balcazar or recently signed minor league free agent Michael Chavis. Terry Francona said last year that good teams typically have good utility guys.
Signing Bleday also helps the Reds accomplish a publicly acknowledged goal of adding more center field depth behind Friedl this winter.
These are the types of moves that teams like the Brewers execute really well. The difference between the best small market teams and the ones stuck in the middle is often their ability to find value in the fringes. You don’t win the offseason by signing Bleday — the Athletics just gave up on him. But he’s going to get a shot to play, and the move is a sign that the Reds are shooting for some upside.
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