The Cincinnati Reds acted quickly in re-signing closer Emilio Pagán to a wildly affordable two-year, $20 million contract, locking down one of the key members of their bullpen for next couple of years.

He and Tony Santillan should form the team’s eighth-and-ninth inning duo for the next two seasons, which is a promising sign considering the former locked down 32 saves and pitched to a 2.88 ERA in 2025, while the latter logged a 2.44 ERA en route to 1.1 fWAR.

However, there are still a few key members of last season’s bullpen left unsigned, which could leave a notable hole in on the depth chart. Pagán and Santillan are great, but the Reds bullpen needs more in place to help bridge the gap between the starters and that tandem.

Thus, the Reds should double-down on their bullpen re-signings and get Scott Barlow back under contract for the 2026 season.

After re-signing Emilio Pagán, the Reds should reunite with Scott Barlow

Brent Suter should also be up for consideration thanks his 10-year track record in the big leagues and his southpaw profile, but Barlow is the more dynamic arm at this point. You could also make the case for Nick Martinez, but he’ll almost certainly sign elsewhere as a backend starter this offseason.

Barlow, who’ll turn 33 years old after the MLB Winter Meetings, had a strong debut season in Cincinnati in 2025. His $6.5 million team option was still declined in favor of a $1 million buyout. Across 75 appearances (68⅓ innings), the right-hander compiled a 4.21 ERA, 4.70 FIP, and 24.8% strikeout rate.

Notably, he fell off after the first half, going from a 3.81 ERA and .263 wOBA allowed to 4.91 and .360 marks, respectively. A lot of that can be attributed to his continued control issues — after the All-Star break, Barlow’s walk rate jumped by 1.6% and he allowed nearly three times as many home runs per nine innings.

Walks have been his kryptonite for some time, as his walk rate has been above 11% in every season since 2023 before peaking at 14.9% in 2025. In years prior, he was able to limit free passes more effectively, working a 7.6% walk rate in 2022 and 9.2% rate in 2021.

If the Reds can help him get back to that form, he could prove to be a dynamic reliever in the back of the pen like he was in the first half. Barlow is incredible at inducing weak contact, ranking in the 96th percentile in exit velocity allowed and the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate.

On a short-term deal, Barlow could provide some serious value to Cincinnati’s bullpen. He won’t have to do too much with Pagán and Santillan still in place, and could instead settle into a groove as the bridge between the starters and closers.