Things have reached a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situation for the Cincinnati Reds. It’s time for the Reds’ front office to grab a hammer, take a big swing, and call up their top outfield prospect, Héctor Rodríguez.
This season at Triple-A Louisville, Rodríguez is hitting .288/.364/.532 with 17 home runs, 49 RBI, six stolen bases, and a 128 wRC+. During the month of June, he’s hitting .300/.402/.671 with a 160 wRC+. Rodríguez has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues, and could provide an offensive spark to help the Reds get back into the playoff hunt.
Reds should promote Héctor Rodríguez and hope for the best
The Reds already have an opening in the outfield after optioning Will Benson back to the minor leagues following Elly De La Cruz’s activation from the injured list on Tuesday. Cincinnati’s current roster has an abundance of infielders, and they’ll soon have a tough time allocating playing time if a roster move isn’t made.
Reds manager Terry Francona even admitted to Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith that he and the coaches don’t have a plan when it comes to the influx of second basemen on the active roster.
“I don’t know. That’s just being truthful. We talked extensively for a while knowing Elly was coming back. Arroyo can move around, as we’ve seen. Just because we did this today doesn’t mean we need to stay like this. We’ll see how this works out.”
While this certainly shows a lack of continuity between the coaching staff and the front office, a simple solution still exists. The Reds could option Arroyo (or Matt McLain) back to the minor leagues and recall Rodríguez to the 26-man roster.
This dude RAKES pic.twitter.com/JL59zMTQmw
— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) June 24, 2026
Given the lack of production from Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suárez of late, Francona should have no issue rotating several players through the DH role while giving Rodríguez every day reps in the outfield. He’s played a few more games in right field than he has left this season, but has plenty of experience in both corners. While Rodríguez has played center field, he hasn’t done so since 2024.
Arroyo already received a chance to prove what he could do. After three weeks, the results have been rather mediocre. That’s not an indictment on Arroyo, but it is a sign that he needs more seasoning in the minor leagues (and more reps at second base) before receiving meaningful playing time at the major league level.
It’s time to see what Rodríguez can do. What do the Reds have to lose…other than more games.
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