Reds General Discussion 2026, Part 3

[Ron Madden]

From Lance McAlister

The Cincinnati Reds just lost a series to a team that came to town losers of six straight......and 16 of 19.

The Royals arrived with a record of 22-37.
They had won just 7 of 27 on the road.

They took 2 of 3 from the Reds.

Last night was the Reds 14th loss to a team with a losing record.

After starting the season 20-11, the Reds have gone 11-19.

They are just 16-16 at GABP.

They have cycled through 27 pitches, including two catchers throwing in blowouts.

They have suffered 16 losses by at least five runs, 2nd most in MLB.

They stand 31-30 with 101 games remaining.
They sit in last place in the NL Central, 7 games back of the Brewers.

[JCM11]

The best part about having a manager like Tito now is Bob won't let Krall deflect the blame towards him and it'll be Krall on the hot seat. The front office needs overhauled or it doesn't really matter who's sitting in the dugout. I think Tito is past his prime, but he's still a better manager than Krall is a POBO.

[shaggy]

Latest from Jeff Passan
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...brewers-braves

Cincinnati Reds
Objective: Stop living at .500 and play like a playoff team.

If they were to unload someone, it could be: Brock Burke, RP

If they were to get someone, it could be: Taylor Ward, OF

What to know: Things aren't great in Cincinnati. Elly De La Cruz is on the injured list, where he joined ace Hunter Greene. Greene's replacement at the top of the rotation, the magnificent Chase Burns, could be subject to an innings limit. Outside of JJ Bleday, the Reds' outfield has been underwhelming. So while the tea leaves suggest they might be more on the side of offloading -- in addition to the left-handed Burke, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, slugger Eugenio Suarez and free-agent-to-be Caleb Ferguson could draw interest -- if Cincinnati leapfrogs back into playoff contention, Ward bringing his high on-base percentage to the top of the Reds' lineup would give De La Cruz, Bleday and Sal Stewart plenty of RBI opportunities.

[CaiGuy]

^ Typical ESPN reporting, Spencer Steer has been better then Taylor Ward, so not sure what he is talking about there.

[Kc61]

From Lance McAlister

The Cincinnati Reds just lost a series to a team that came to town losers of six straight......and 16 of 19.

The Royals arrived with a record of 22-37.
They had won just 7 of 27 on the road.

They took 2 of 3 from the Reds.

Last night was the Reds 14th loss to a team with a losing record.

After starting the season 20-11, the Reds have gone 11-19.

They are just 16-16 at GABP.

They have cycled through 27 pitches, including two catchers throwing in blowouts.

They have suffered 16 losses by at least five runs, 2nd most in MLB.

They stand 31-30 with 101 games remaining.
They sit in last place in the NL Central, 7 games back of the Brewers.

The hitting is about where I expected. 95 wRC+, slightly below league average. Better than last two seasons. The pitching has collapsed. #3 in fWAR last year, #28 this season.

I there is any chance to get back into this season, the team has to realistically assess the pitching, add a few guys, subtract a few guys.

While Singer and Santillan were mainstays last year, they have to improve imminently or be replaced. Connor Phillips had a good outing yesterday, maybe he’s had a re-set. If Singer doesn’t come around soon, Reds may need another bridge to Hunter Greene. Maybe Petty, maybe another pickup from outside.

We talk a lot about position players here, but there are more alternatives for them. The pitching is the main problem and Reds have to get in a room and make some serious calls about how to get it back on track.

[shaggy]

^ Typical ESPN reporting, Spencer Steer has been better then Taylor Ward, so not sure what he is talking about there.

Steer has played 38 games in the OF and has played 33 games at 1B/2B/3B, I am not sure that anyone is really looking at Steer as a fulltime OFer.

I am not sure what your take is here, that Taylor Ward would not help the Reds offense because Steer is better then him this year?

The Reds need OF help and Ward is an OFer that could be available I am not sure this is some conspiracy against ESPN to come after Reds.

[CaiGuy]

Steer has played 38 games in the OF and has played 33 games at 1B/2B/3B, I am not sure that anyone is really looking at Steer as a fulltime OFer.

I am not sure what your take is here, that Taylor Ward would not help the Reds offense because Steer is better then him this year?

The Reds need OF help and Ward is an OFer that could be available I am not sure this is some conspiracy against ESPN to come after Reds.

True that he has played less OF then I thought.

Still, Steer would have to move to 2B to make that work, and I think his glove is terrible there.

LF Bleday
RF Ward
2B Steer
DH Lowe
Stewart 1B

Otherwise you have to bench one of those guys, which wouldn't move the needle some. If you don't mind Steer at 2B, then it could work.

[JCM11]

Reds RP has the 27th ranked ERA in MLB and we just lost Ashcraft and Johnson. I'm not sure how Taylor Ward is supposed to help that. Both the offense and rotation are in better shape than the pen.

[Kc61]

^ Typical ESPN reporting, Spencer Steer has been better then Taylor Ward, so not sure what he is talking about there.

The Reds trading away decent pitching now would be rather ill-advised. Brock Burke is a trade piece now?

[Kc61]

Steer has played 38 games in the OF and has played 33 games at 1B/2B/3B, I am not sure that anyone is really looking at Steer as a fulltime OFer.

I am not sure what your take is here, that Taylor Ward would not help the Reds offense because Steer is better then him this year?

The Reds need OF help and Ward is an OFer that could be available I am not sure this is some conspiracy against ESPN to come after Reds.

Reds are 28th in pitching fWAR. They are in no position to trade pitching for offense.

[mth123]

True. A lot of bad players, but with as small a margin of error as we have, we can't afford to have our a manager costing us potential wins by going with Junior Marte in a one-run game with a well rested pen, Big Diabetes in a high leverage late game situation, and Santy Claus in five innings of 9th inning work( 10R , 4HR, 4BB). Bad performers are the biggest issue but Terry isn't helping things AT ALL with his late game mismanagement.

Every Manager make a ton of "mistakes." The ones with good players win anyway. The ones with a mediocre (or worse) roster end up on the hot seat. Get a few better players and no one would notice the stuff Francona does because the team would win anyway.

[LeatherPants]

Every Manager make a ton of "mistakes." The ones with good players win anyway. The ones with a mediocre (or worse) roster end up on the hot seat. Get a few better players and no one would notice the stuff Francona does because the team would win anyway.

You'd think people would learn eventually, because they are making the exact same arguments against Tito that they did Bell. At some point maybe they will get it that the manager doesn't matter much at all. You're 100% right, get better players.

[redsfan9988]

You'd think people would learn eventually, because they are making the exact same arguments against Tito that they did Bell. At some point maybe they will get it that the manager doesn't matter much at all. You're 100% right, get better players.

Playing devil’s advocate… the 2025 Reds were quite a bit better than the 2024 Reds with (in my opinion anyway) a pretty similar talent level.

If you have a healthy Greene, Lodolo, and Abbott plus a couple of impactful bats like Elly - .500 should be the floor unless the balance of the entire roster is replacement players.

Personally, I think the team is better prepared and plays a more professional style under Francona than they did under Bell. I have no real tangible evidence for this, so feel free to disregard this argument.

As for this year… Friedl, Pagan, Santillan, Stephenson, and Marte produced 9.9 bWAR in 2025 and have produced -1.7 bWAR IN 2026. These are all players within their initial team control windows* that are ostensibly in their primes. Suarez has been a bad signing. I hate that that’s true, but it is. He’s provided absolutely nothing. Greene hasn’t pitched, Lodolo has only made a handful of starts, and Abbott has regressed to what his Statcast numbers say he should be. Somehow, this team is above .500. Go figure.

*edit: not Pagan

[Tony Cloninger]

The defense isn’t helping the pitching much with all the walks so Steer at 2B and trading for Ward. From the minors not the good pitching here would be something I would look at. They should also look at trading for pitching obviously. Do they think this is still a salvageable season? This churn stuff only works if you’ve got stuff ready to play now. There’s a lot more hitting this year in the minors. Barely any pitching.

[Ladeda]

From Lance McAlister



They stand 31-30 with 101 games remaining.
They sit in last place in the NL Central, 7 games back of the Brewers.

This month has me concerned.

St Louis
San Diego
Arizona
Mets
Yankees
Brewers
Pirates
Brewers

Orioles
Phillies
Cubs

AS Break.

2 teams with losing records--- Mets and Orioles. That's it. I fear that the Reds season could be over by the All Star break. Reds have a .537 remaining SoS which is the toughest in MLB-- 3rd toughest is .517. It's ridiculous the schedule that the Reds still have remaining-- it's the equivalent of playing an 87 win team the rest of the way--- for 101 games.