The Reds posted 83 wins and a Wild Card berth in their first season under manager Terry Francona, and should be considered one of the teams to watch this winter as they look for added offense in 2026.

A Bright Spot
Five starting pitchers finished 2025 with a WAR north of 3 (Zack Littell, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Brady Singer). All but Littell are on the books again in 2026, and there’s already discussions being had about the possibility of trading Greene if it can return a bonafide bat.

A Big Concern
Defense. Adding Ke’Bryan Hayes to the mix helped, but overall this was a team that gave away too many runs in 2025. SS Elly De La Cruz continued his struggles, posting a MLB high 26 errors.

Related Links
2026 Reds Financials
MLB Offseason Guides

Pending Free Agents

Littell and Pagan were big pieces of Cincinnati’s puzzle last season and should be considered for new deals. Martinez might also figure back into the mix of the Reds look to trade one of their top starters this winter.

Option Decisions

Cincinnati is likely to decline all of these options.




PLAYER
OPTION SALARY




Austin Hays (OF, 30)
$12M mutual option ($1M buyout)


Brent Suter (RP, 36)
$3M club option ($250k buyout)


Scott Barlow (RP, 32)
$6.5M club option ($1M buyout)

Arbitration-Eligibility

Much of the Reds’ young core is still tied to cost-controlled arbitration for the upcoming season. Cincy likely non-tenders a few names at the bottom of this list for accounting and roster need purposes.




PLAYER
PROJ. ARB SALARY




Brady Singer (SP, 29)
$13M


Tyler Stephenson (C, 29)
$7M


Nick Lodolo (SP, 28)
$5M


Gavin Lux (UTIL, 28)
$4.5M


Spencer Steer (1B, 28)
$4M


T.J. Friedl (OF, 30)
$3.5M


Matt McLain (2B, 26)
$2.6M


Tony Santillan (RP, 29)
$2.5M


Santiago Espinal (3B, 31)
$2.5M


Graham Ashcraft (RP, 28)
$1.5M


Will Benson (OF, 28)
$1.5M


Ian Gibaut (RP, 32)
$1.4M


Sam Moll (RP, 34)
$1.25M


Brandon Williamson (SP, 28)
$850k

Guaranteed Salary

Greene’s inability to stay healthy could have him on the trade block this winter.

Team Tax Projections

Cincinnati posted a CBT payroll north of $140M in 2025, their highest since the 2021 campaign. They enter 2026 with a 40-man projection near $118M, providing around $125M of space. With free agents to re-sign, and at least one formidable bat to be added here, the Reds may need to push well north of $160M to give themselves a chance.