\u201cIt\u2019s a presence in the middle of the order,\u201d Francona said. \u201cThat usually makes people in front of you and behind you better. We were mixing and matching so much last year trying to protect Elly (De La Cruz). We were doing it with younger guys. It seemed like whenever we did it, whoever we moved would struggle a bit (because) you start to become a focal point for other teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Su\u00e1rez, who hit 49 homers last year, knows how to handle that role and that level of expectations. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s also known as one of the best clubhouse guys in baseball, a veteran with a consistently positive attitude. He lives by his motto, \u201cGood vibes only.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis ability to mesh well with the clubhouse, that\u2019s what you hear about a guy like that,\u201d Reds left fielder Spencer Steer said on Monday, the first day of spring training. \u201cI get excited when I hear that. Getting to know the guy and have him around on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, the Reds didn\u2019t have a late-game comeback that resulted in a victory until the middle of June. They were also the worst team in baseball in extra innings. <\/p>\n
It hurt that the cleanup spot was a revolving door all season. Francona tried slotting in whoever was hot, but he wasn\u2019t able to find an answer. Last season, Reds\u2019 cleanup hitters posted the 10th-worst OPS in MLB.<\/p>\n
Su\u00e1rez solves that hole in the Reds\u2019 lineup. <\/p>\n
\u201cWho he has been as a player speaks for itself,\u201d Hunter Greene said. \u201cTo have him back in the clubhouse and to have that energy around will be really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Su\u00e1rez slotted into the cleanup spot, the big question is who will hit second in the lineup.<\/p>\n
Center fielder TJ Friedl was one of the best on-base guys in MLB last season, and his ability to grind out tough at-bats is exactly what Francona is looking for at the top of the order. De La Cruz hits third. <\/p>\n
![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SKDU6UEHA3SBQOQTRHTQMKK2HA.jpg\")
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Credit: AP<\/p>\n
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Credit: AP<\/p>\n
Candidates to hit second include Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have to figure out who hits second,\u201d Francona said. \u201cWe want to have somebody to break up Elly and TJ. It needs to be someone right-handed. My first thought is (Noelvi) Marte, but he struggles against lefties. We\u2019ve got to figure some things out. We haven\u2019t played a game yet. Those are things I think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the Reds find that No. 2 hitter, then the lineup should really click into a playoff-caliber group. <\/p>\n
The middle of the Reds\u2019 lineup was inconsistent in 2025. If that unit levels up, the Reds will be in good position to take the next step and reach the goals that the team is setting for 2026. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want them to remember how they popped champagne how it felt,\u201d Francona said. \u201cI also want them to remember what it felt like four days later when you\u2019re being sent home. Our obligation, whatever happens, is to learn from it and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adding an All-Star cleanup hitter generated a lot of excitement. ExploreMcCoy: Without a salary cap, MLB\u2019s small markets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2400],"tags":[5,535,50,4259,9718,4,536],"class_list":{"0":"post-567577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-reds","11":"tag-cincinnatireds","12":"tag-great-american-ball-park","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-reds"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}