GOODYEAR, Ariz. — In a perfect world, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said that Matt McLain is the perfect guy to hit second in the Reds’ lineup. But Francona also doesn’t want to force it with a player who struggled at the plate in 2025.
The million dollar question with McLain this year is what does he have to show to climb back up into the No. 2 spot in the order. How many good weeks would McLain need to put together, and will spring training count?
It would be great for McLain to have a standout spring training, but he hit very well in spring training last year. Francona said, “I’m not going to look at their batting averages this spring.”
What does Francona want to see from McLain this spring?
“Just like everyone, you want them to feel good about themselves when they leave here,” Francona said. “That’s the whole idea. If I had a formula, we’d do it. You want guys to play enough. Everyone is different, which is ok.”
Spring training lineups are nothing to read into, but the top-half of the Reds’ lineup on Sunday was TJ Friedl, McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez hitting one-through-four. That’s the ideal world for the Reds.
On Saturday night, leading up to his 2026 Cactus League debut, McLain was thinking about how excited he was for his first game action in a season that he views as a fresh start.
“I just want to have good at-bats, play good defense and be the player that I am,” McLain said. “I’m excited to go out there and play. Last night, I was just (thinking) I’m excited to play.”
He hasn’t had any discussions with Francona about where McLain is going to hit in the lineup.
“Wherever I hit is wherever I hit,” McLain said. “I’m going to take my at-bats and do what I can to help the team win. Get on base, move the runner over, sac fly, get a base hit. Do what I can to get that job done.”
Last year, Francona admittedly stuck with McLain too long in the No. 2 spot. McLain batted second 66 times, which was more than twice as much as any other Reds’ hitter.
“I had a ton of confidence in him,” Francona said. “And every time we moved people, because they were young, they were getting beat up. That’s not developing guys. There has to be a reason to do something that helps your team and helps your guys.”
Francona still has a ton of confidence in McLain, who’s the Reds’ unquestioned starting second baseman. The Reds are chalking up McLain’s down 2025 season to the expected grind of coming back from the major shoulder injury that McLain had in 2024.
“You don’t want to tell a guy before the year that they’re going to have a (bad) year,” Francona said. “They might not. But he’s not the first guy that’s had it.”
In McLain’s spring training debut, he put a really good swing on a sinker and muscled it the other way for a loud double to right field. He tacked on a single to right field in the fourth inning.
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Throughout his professional career, the big focus for Hunter Greene during spring training was developing an off-speed pitch that could slow hitters down and give left-handed hitters a different look. First, it was his changeup. Then, it became the splitter that’s now a useful part of his arsenal.
This spring, Greene is expanding his repertoire. He’s working on a two-seam fastball.
“It’s going to be a great offering,” Greene said. “I’m excited to get going. You’ll see it a good bit.”
That would be a much different style of secondary pitch for Greene, who also throws a four-seam fastball, a splitter and a curveball.
On Sunday, he threw a live batting practice against Reds’ hitters, had plenty of strikeouts in two innings and broke a bat on a swing.
“It felt great,” Greene said. “My pitches are working well. It feels like it’s an easy 100 (mph). I put myself in a good position going into spring. I don’t use spring to get going. I come into spring feeling very good. I’m right where I should be.”
For those keeping track at home, Greene threw what was essentially a simulated game on Sunday (he’ll make his Cactus League debut on Friday, he said). Following Monday’s off day, Andrew Abbott will pitch in a spring training game on Tuesday. And Nick Lodolo is scheduled to pitch in a spring training game on Wednesday.
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In his first game in a Reds’ uniform since April of 2024 and in what feels like his first real game back from his third Tommy John surgery (he went on a rehab assignment last fall), Tejay Antone hit 95 mph, struck out Cal Raleigh by forcing two whiffs and threw an impressive inning against the Mariners on Sunday.
“It was good to see him out there,” Francona said. “He has worked so hard, come back from so much and looked just fine out there.”
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