PITTSBURGH \u2014 As you evaluate the 2026 Cincinnati Reds, the coaching staff and the front office at the midpoint of the season, there are three important topics that you have to balance: Finances, transactions and development. <\/p>\n
Payroll and the approach from Reds\u2019 ownership is always going to be a factor in how the roster is built and the direction the Reds\u2019 are taking. <\/p>\n
The transactions made by the front office \u2014 both good (signing JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe) and more questionable (the Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes trade, or the Gavin Lux trade with the Dodgers) \u2014 are a part of the evaluation. <\/p>\n
For a Reds\u2019 team that hasn\u2019t had a big payroll for most of its recent history, approach toward development is always going to be a critical piece of the puzzle as you determine the overall health of the Reds\u2019 organization. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, the Reds (37-42) haven\u2019t been good enough through the first half of the season. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t played up to our capability yet,\u201d Nick Krall said on Friday. \u201cWe\u2019ve had injuries. Everybody has injuries. We have some really good players on this team who can continue to take steps forward. We want to see those guys progressing. Some of it has been underperformance. In every aspect of our game, we need to continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few player development topics have been especially notable watching the big league team this year. <\/p>\n
The Reds have been the worst team in MLB against velocity (pitches 95 mph+), and that\u2019s a skill that player development plays an important role in developing. <\/p>\n
On the pitching side, the Reds\u2019 young pitchers haven\u2019t done a good enough job of throwing enough strikes, or of holding runners. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s an interesting time in Reds\u2019 pitching development with pitching director Derek Johnson on a leave of absence. Organizational meetings last week in person in Cincinnati gave Reds\u2019 brass a chance to look at and discuss how things are going. Without Johnson, Matt Tracy and Oscar Marin have stepped into bigger roles. <\/p>\n
Krall said that Tracy and Marin have done a \u201cvery good job\u201d with their added responsibilities over the last month. <\/p>\n
Overall, Krall spoke positively about the state of Reds\u2019 pitching development. The Reds statistically have been good at holding runners in the Minor Leagues. There are some good example of emerging under the radar pitchers in the farm system who have popped out of the blue, and the Reds have been one of the better teams in baseball at maximizing the value of their high pitching draft picks. <\/p>\n
While the Reds would be in a much better spot this year if their rookie pitchers in 2026 (Connor Phillips, Luis Mey, Zach Maxwell, etc) had been more consistent in the big leagues, Krall sees the ship pointing in the right direction on the pitching side. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of guys in the big leagues who have come through our system,\u201d Krall said. \u201cDo we need to get better? Of course we do. That\u2019s a constant goal. Our guys overall have done a good job over the last few years. We\u2019re just trying to make some tweaks and progress forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the hitting side, the Reds have an organizational philosophy that they\u2019ve built around over the last six years. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to continue to take good at-bats, be able to manipulate the bat, use the whole field and get on base,\u201d Krall said. \u201cUnderstanding what your zones are and what you can and can\u2019t hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been success stories like Sal Stewart, Blake Dunn and Bleday. There are also negative examples \u2014 Will Benson, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Rece Hinds \u2014 of players who couldn\u2019t stick in the big leagues and uncertainties around players like Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain whose roles going forward aren\u2019t set in stone. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think development is linear,\u201d Krall said. \u201cDunn has progressed in his role at the big league level. Sometimes, you think a guy will get to the big leagues and he\u2019ll do exactly what he did in the minor leagues. Sometimes, you\u2019ve got to figure out how to make those adjustments. We need to make sure we\u2019re doing the best we can to help these kids grow at this level so they can be productive big leaguers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe the oddest thing about the Reds right now is how little about their future is set in stone, specifically on the position player side. <\/p>\n
Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and Spencer Steer will be every day players on the team next year. <\/p>\n
After that? <\/p>\n
There are things to like about Bleday, Dunn, Marte, McLain, Edwin Arroyo, Dane Myers and others. But each of those players still has things to prove. <\/p>\n
So do the Reds, who have the fourth-worst record in the National League. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe just have to put it all together at the same time,\u201d said Krall, who\u2019s frustrated by the team\u2019s record in division play this year. <\/p>\n
Krall said that \u201cit\u2019s too early\u201d to determine what the Reds\u2019 approach at the trade deadline is going to be. <\/p>\n
A full rebuild seems unlikely. Bleday, Steer, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott would get the Reds more in return than their players on expiring contracts, but the Reds historically haven\u2019t punted on seasons (even in 2022, when they held onto guys like Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano at the deadline). <\/p>\n
In 2024, the Reds didn\u2019t entertain offers for Jonathan India and went on to deal two pitchers on expiring contracts in Frankie Montas and Lucas Sims. If the Reds don\u2019t turn things around, the approach at the 2024 deadline looks like a relevant comparison. <\/p>\n
The 2026 Reds have Eugenio Su\u00e1rez, Brady Singer, Tyler Stephenson, Pierce Johnson, Caleb Ferguson, Brock Burke and Nathaniel Lowe, among others, on expiring contracts. The Reds, in theory, could \u201ctear it down\u201d by trading all of those guys for as many prospects as they can. But the 2024 example shows that the Reds typically haven\u2019t gone in that direction. <\/p>\n
Krall said that he\u2019s very optimistic about the rotation, especially with Hunter Greene nearing a return (as soon as July 3). That\u2019s one area of the team that gives Krall confidence, and the lineup also has Elly De La Cruz back off the IL. If the Reds start winning more games, then that better sets up a scenario where the Reds are more aggressive. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s something that can make your team better, you have to figure out what that is and how to do it for the short term and the long term,\u201d Krall said. <\/p>\n
Two more points about the scenario where the Reds would be buyers at the deadline<\/p>\n
-Krall said that he hasn\u2019t had conversations yet with ownership about the financial flexibility he\u2019d have available to spend at the deadline. <\/p>\n
-Krall brought up how the Reds unexpectedly traded for Zach Littell at the deadline last year (bullpen prices were really high on the trade market, so the Reds added a starter and moved Nick Martinez to the bullpen). Last year\u2019s trade market shaped the process that ended up with the Reds landing Littell. This year\u2019s trade market and the external factors in it would shape different paths the Reds could go down. <\/p>\n
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