Luke Holman is re‑emerging as a top prospect for the Cincinnati Reds after a dominant Arizona Fall League outing. The 23‑year‑old former LSU right‑hander, who missed most of 2025–26 due to Tommy John surgery and a groin injury, threw nine innings, allowing one earned run while striking out 15 and walking just one. FanGraphs rates him the #17 prospect in the Reds’ system (MLB Pipeline lists him 23rd). If he stays healthy, Holman could quickly fill a glaring need for quality starting pitching in Cincinnati’s farm clubs, joining recent draftees like Chase Burns, Tyson Lewis and Mike Sirota in the organization’s 2024 draft success story.
Once again healthy, the 23-year-old right-hander is a prospect to watch in the Cincinnati system.
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The Reds’ 2026 season shined thanks to stars like Elly De La Cruz and Chase Burns, but corner outfielder JJ Bleday was a glaring underperformer, posting a .217/.324/.416 line and a disappointing 1.2 bWAR. After a strong start in AAA Louisville, Bledby earned a call‑up and briefly exploded in May, winning NL Player of the Month with a .301/.399/.655 slash and 10 homers in 31 games. However, his BABIP collapsed from .304 to .216 after June 2, and his extreme fly‑ball profile (51.4% FB) couldn’t sustain the early success. The article questions whether the Reds can unlock more value from the 29‑year‑old before his contract expires.
Future Hall of Famer Joey Votto believes the Cincinnati Reds should trade Elly De La Cruz, and the New York Yankees should convince to deal by emptying the farm.
In the Arizona Fall League, Reds shortstop Carlos Sanchez hit a homer and is batting .250/.400/.464 over eight games after a solid .270/.376/.440 2026 season across High‑A Dayton and AA Chattanooga. Former 2024 second‑round pick Luke Holman impressed with five innings, one earned run and 10 strikeouts in two appearances. The blog also fuels Elly De Cruz trade chatter, noting Joey Votto’s criticism of the Reds’ analytics and a speculative deal sending De Cruz to the Yankees for top prospect Franklin Arias. Free‑agent outfielder Ian Happ praised Cincinnati, while MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon flags three Reds prospects to watch in 2027.
Following an 83-win 2025 season that saw the Cincinnati Reds return to the playoffs for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, there was a good amount of anticipation surrounding the club this spring. With young stars on both sides of the ball, this era of Reds baseball seemed to be trending in the […]
The post Elly De La Cruz’s Arbitration Applies Pressure to the Reds appeared first on Just Baseball .
The Cincinnati Reds have been fighting off Elly De La Cruz trade rumors all offseason, and the Cardinals can learn something from how they got there.
When the Cincinnati Reds selected Nick Lodolo with the seventh overall pick in 2019, they expected him to be a top-of-the-rotation arm. A long and lanky lefty with a sidearm arm slot that produces swing-and-miss stuff and plus command is not the easiest thing to find. For a moment, it looked like Nick Lodolo would […]
The post What Should the Reds Do With Nick Lodolo? appeared first on Just Baseball .
In a year of high expectations, the Cincinnati Reds fell well short of their goals. Finishing last in the NL Central and 13 games from a wild-card spot, it was a lost season in Cincinnati. After a promising start to the season, the year that started great turned into a year to forget. But if […]
The post Elly De La Cruz Entered Superstar Status in 2026 appeared first on The Lead .
Cincinnati Reds legend Joey Votto held nothing back during a recent interview when he claimed the club tries to “pinch […]
Today’s article is the final of a 3-part series, broadly investigating expected results for a team that can boast the kind of young talent that the Reds have in Elly De La Cruz and Chase Burns, who combined for over 10 WAR and made up roughly 1% of the team’s overall payroll. We’ll start by […]
The Cincinnati Reds quietly secured utility player Oswaldo Cabrera for 2027, agreeing Thursday to a one-year Major League contract that avoids salary arbitration while the postseason continues. Cincinnati claimed Cabrera off waivers from the New York Yankees on Sept. 18, giving the club a versatile depth option heading into the offseason. The 27-year-old switch-hitter appeared […]
The post Reds quietly agree to contract with ex-Yankees player as postseason continues appeared first on ClutchP...
The Cincinnati Reds did not meet their expectations this year. However, shortstop Elly De La Cruz enjoyed a huge season. He won’t win the National League MVP given the presences of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani, but De La Cruz will earn some MVP votes nonetheless. The 24-year-old hit .283 with an .880 OPS to […]
The post Joey Votto further explains why Reds should consider Elly De La Cruz trade appeared first on ClutchPoints .
By September 18th of the 2026 regular season, the Cincinnati Reds were long toast. They were 10 games under the .500 mark and a lock to finish dead last in the five-team National League Central division, and the final home game of the year was just two days away. You will not be blamed if […]
The Reds announced that they have agreed to a one-year, Major League contract with utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera. The signing allows the two sides to avoid salary arbitration, and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports that Cabrera will earn $1MM in guaranteed salary plus up to $200K in bonuses related to plate appearances. There was some thought that […]
The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve named Brian Reith their new pitching coach, replacing Pete Maki, whose contract wasn’t renewed at season’s end. Reith has spent the past five seasons as the pitching coach with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham, and he pitched in parts of three major league seasons with the Reds from […]
The three-team deal that sent Josh Lowe to the Angels and Gavin Lux to the Rays over the winter was intriguing, if not season-altering. Los Angeles picked up an everyday outfielder to replace Taylor Ward, who was traded to the Orioles. Tampa Bay landed a Brandon Lowe replacement after sending the second baseman to Pittsburgh. […]
Joey Votto needed only eight words to introduce a Cincinnati Reds-Los Angeles Dodgers trade debate: “De Paula for Elly. Who says no?” De Paula for Elly. Who says no? — Joey Votto (@JoeyVotto) October 12, 2026 The proposal pairs Los Angeles prospect Josue De Paula with Cincinnati shortstop Elly De La Cruz, creating an intriguing […]
The post Reds’ legend Joey Votto floats Elly De La Cruz Dodgers trade idea appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The offseason between 2005 and 2006 was one of great transition for the Cincinnati Reds. You’ll be shocked to be reminded of their disappointing 2005 season – Dave Miley got fired near the midpoint and they went just 1-7 over their final 8 games to finish 73-89 and in last place in the NL Central. […]
The mountains that the Cincinnati Reds will need to climb to be relevant again in the National League will be on full display on Sunday night in Milwaukee as the Brewers play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The only question that will be answered is […]
You may have noticed that there are Major League Baseball games being played in front of packed houses each and every day this week. You may also have noticed that none of them have featured the Cincinnati Reds. That’s because the Reds, unfortunately, were terrible this year. And terrible teams don’t get to play October […]
The Cincinnati Reds‘ season has come and gone, and we are once again focusing on next year’s roster at the beginning of October. This season was similar to years past, when the Reds lacked enough talent and depth to push for the playoffs. The Sal Stewart breakout and Elly De La Cruz’s ascension were welcome […]
The post The Cincinnati Reds’ Catching Situation Is Dire appeared first on Just Baseball .
We examine the top performers from the Reds' 2026 draft class, sleeper names to know and plenty more.
The post Cincinnati Reds 2026 MLB Draft Report Card appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America .
Once a team comes up with its projected salary for all of its arbitration-eligible players, it will begin a tender analysis to simply determine: “Are we comfortable guaranteeing Player X this much money?” If the answer is yes, the player will be tendered a contract prior to the mid-November Tender Deadline. Tendering a contract means […]
The post Cincinnati Reds Arbitration Projections and Tender Decisions appeared first on Just Baseball .
The struggles of the Cincinnati Reds offense as a whole during the 2026 regular season has been documented well – here, there, and everywhere. The top-heavy nature of the lineup featured a back-beat that was mostly non-existent for months at a time, and overall the latter outweighed the former by season’s end. They ranked dead […]