GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Cincinnati Reds leadoff hitter TJ Friedl says that one of the best things to happen to him all year in 2025 was the conversation that he had in spring training with Terry Francona. Having faced Friedl over the years when Francona was with the Cleveland Guardians, Francona viewed Friedl as an on-base guy and a tone setter. Francona told Friedl that he was hoping to see Friedl on base two times per game in 2025.
Friedl turned that line into his mindset and approach at the plate for the season. And he accomplished that goal.
Last year, three leadoff hitters in MLB reached base two-plus times in a game 77-or-more times: Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. and TJ Friedl.
“TJ did a really good job,” Francona said on Friday. “I know it’s really hard to get on twice a game every day. If he’s on base, that’s going to lead to good things.”
Fifteen total hitters reached base two-plus times in a game 75-or-more times, and it’s a star-studded group that’s entirely composed of recent All-Stars, MVP candidates, batting champs and Friedl.
He did his job, and he finished the season 17th in all of baseball in on-base percentage.
“I want to continue to be the same guy,” Friedl said. “There’s not much to change. Not much difference in my approach. I’m fine-tuning a few things — driving the ball to left-center after I hit pop flies to left last year. I’m sticking to the same approach and the same mindset.”
To get on base twice a game, he works a ton of walks, executes some of the best strike zone judgement in MLB, bunts and consistently puts the ball in play.
He makes it sound simple. But the reality is that the other guys in MLB getting on base twice a night include Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and a group that’s full of stars.
“He has so many tools in his tool belt to get on base,” Spencer Steer said. “It’s impressive. His goal is to get on twice a game. The fact that he does so often is pretty incredible.”
On the backfields at the Reds spring training complex in Goodyear, Friedl is always right in the middle of the action. When the guys are going through agility drills early in the day, Friedl is bringing energy. When they’re walking from one field to another, Friedl is leading the conversation and bringing guys together.
“He’s a great leader,” Matt McLain said. “He brings the energy every day. He sets the tone in the lineup.”
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It’s easy for the team to follow someone who plays the right game as consistently as Friedl does, someone who knows himself like Friedl does and who’s so invested in setting up the success of others.
His entire approach at the plate is creating RBI chances for his teammates. He’s the captain of the Reds’ outfield, getting that group set before every pitch.
“He’s in the middle of everything,” Steer said. “He always wants to hang out with the guys. He always has a great energy to him. He’s our table setter in the lineup. There’s a value he brings with the quality of at-bats that he has. The leadoff hitter can really set a tone for a game, and he does a great job of that.”
One of my favorite moments of the 2025 season was the reaction to Noelvi Marte’s season-saving home run robbery in September. The television shot pans to Friedl’s face. He runs over to chest bump Marte. Friedl later called it a “proud dad” moment. For all of the hours that Marte spent learning the outfield on the fly, Friedl was right there with him. After looking up to the sky, Marte then points right at Friedl. The right fielder was saying thank you.
“It’s a privilege to have TJ next to me,” Marte said via interpreter Tomás Vera. All of the things he has done. A reason I pointed is we were working on things like that. I said, ‘Hey, I got it. I proved it. I showed him our work has paid off.”
Marte is still figuring out the style of player that he’s going to be in MLB. So are Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Sal Stewart and many others. They can all look to Friedl’s success as an example.
“Just know your strengths and know who you are as a ball player,” Friedl tells them. “You put a lot of effort into what you have to get better at and stay in tune with what you’re good at. Knowing your strengths and playing to your strengths is how you get the best version of yourself.”
This spring, his teammates are noticing how hard Friedl is working at his center field defense.
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Even though he was one of the Reds’ best playmakers in 2025, Friedl ranked 22nd out of 28 center fielders who played at least 500 innings in center field in Fielding Run Value. He ranked 26th in Outs Above Average. Out of 93 qualifying outfielders (across every outfield position), Friedl ranked 77th in a metric that captures an outfielder’s jump and first step. While his sprint speed ranked in the 74th percentile in 2023, it ranked in the 32nd percentile in 2025.
In the hours before games, no one on the team spends more time on the field than Friedl. He has an in-depth, detailed routine of agility work and speed training to get those numbers back up. He wasn’t happy with where he was in that area in 2025, and he focused on it during the offseason.
“I have a lot of room to grow,” Friedl said. “I felt slow. My first step felt slow. I felt a little behind. There were a lot of balls that I could have gotten to if I had a better first step. Defense is a big point of emphasis for me this offseason with my pre-pitch routine and my anticipation to help with my first step, initial jump and reaction time.”
At the start of the offseason, Francona said that he wanted to get Elly De La Cruz more days off in 2026. While De La Cruz got the headlines, Francona also said the same thing about Friedl.
Last season, Friedl made 148 starts in center field and played 1,295 innings there. He probably won’t do that again in 2026.
“There was a point in August when (Will) Benson was in Triple-A where (Friedl) was kind of beat up,” Francona said. “He was a hard guy to give a day off to at the time. It would have been good for him.”
There were times last year where the Reds couldn’t afford to give him a day off because he was the only center fielder on the roster. The Reds enter 2026 with much more center field depth, including Dane Myers (who grades out as a very good center field defender) and Will Benson. Noelvi Marte is also going to spend a good amount of time working in center field this spring.
Marte has to prove that he can play at a consistent level and make more of the routine plays, but he has the tools to be an exciting center fielder one day. While Friedl will get some reps in left field this spring, he’s the Reds’ unquestioned center fielder.
Last year, 21 players were in center field for 100+ games. The average age of those players was 26 years old.
Friedl is 30 this year. Since 2023, there have only been eight players in all of baseball who are 30-or-older and played 100+ games in a season in center field. Friedl wants to buck that trend and stay in center field for years to come.
“I take a lot of pride in my defense,” Friedl said. “Coming up, I was always defensive minded and the bat was always there. It was a defensive emphasis. For me, it’s continuing to work on what I need to work on. There’s always something you need to get better at.”
Friedl saw good underlying signs about his defense last year. When he got a full head of steam, he was good at chasing the ball down. The key was the first few steps, which he drilled all offseason. He’s also one of the most consistent, sure-handed and reliable center fielders in all of baseball, and the fact that he doesn’t make mistakes is really important and adds to his value at that premium position.
More than anything, he looked a bit worn down during the second half of the season.
“Maybe some midseason fatigue setting in,” hitting coach Chris Valaika said last summer. “Overall, it’s been a conversation with him more on the pitch selection and how he’s being pitched. The biggest thing is getting him back to hitting balls hard the other way.”
Friedl was looking like an All-Star between March and June as he hit .283 with a .370 OBP over the first 81 games of the season. Over the final 81 games of the year, he hit .235 with a .357 OBP with less power and just three stolen bases.
In the second half of the year, pitchers were attacking Friedl with more away pitches (far to Friedl’s left). They jammed him early to finish him late with a pitch over the outer part of the plate, and Friedl wasn’t hitting the ball hard the other way. He hit a lot of opposite field pop ups.
The way out of that in the cat and mouse game is slapping a few singles the other way that beat the shift. Then, pitchers have to challenge Friedl with more inside fastballs. He has shown that he can turn around and pull one of those down the line and out of the park.
Friedl’s plan for a more complete 2026 season includes his work to drive the ball more the other way. It should also help that he shouldn’t have to play seemingly every single inning in center field again.
Even with his slump in the second half of the year, Friedl finished the 2025 season with an elite OBP as well as the 11th-best OPS out of players who appeared in at least 81 games in center field.
“He’s very consistent in his effort and his approach,” Francona said. “He’s just a really good player. He’s accountable. That’s important. If he’s on base, we’re going to have a better chance to win.”
The identity that Nick Krall, Francona and the entire Reds organization are working to establish is a team full of polished hitters who play the game hard, show high IQ in the field and on the bases and who have the athleticism to make plays.
Friedl is a poster child of what they’re looking for. He did his job in 2025 by getting on base twice a game, and Francona named Friedl the leadoff hitter for 2026 before position players even officially reported for camp.
In his role, Friedl is exactly what the Reds are looking for.
“Last year, I remember watching him,” said Dane Myers, who hopes to develop some of the skills that are Friedl’s strengths. “I was thinking, ‘That guy is a ballplayer.’ I want to pick his brain on offense, defense and how he goes about his business. What he does is really cool.”
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