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Red Reporter

https://www.redreporter.com/ | 68 entries published

AAAA Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds

Latest Entries

Kyle Schwarber to sign 5-year, $150 million deal with Philadelphia Phillies

The flirtation between the Cincinnati Reds and free agent slugger Kyle Schwarber appears to have been just that – a flirtation. News broke on Tuesday morning that Schwarber will be re-signing with the Philadelphia Phillies for a reported $150 million over five years, with Mark Feinsand of MLB.com doing the reporting. It’s a crushing blow […]

MLB

about 6 hours ago | 0 reads

Reds trade interest in Astros CF Jake Meyers raises questions

Charlie Goldsmith, former Enquirer reporter (and current purveyor of Charlie’s Chalkboard on Substack), caught up with Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona at MLB’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, picking the future Hall of Famer’s mind on a number of topics ranging from Kyle Schwarber to managing the overall roster of the club through the grind of […]

about 6 hours ago | 0 reads

Will Benson might still deserve a bigger role on the Cincinnati Reds

While all the focus and spotlights of this particular Cincinnati Reds offseason are pointed firmly at Middletown slugger Kyle Schwarber, it’s still a pertinent exercise to dig through the nuts and bolts of the rest of the roster in search of ways this team’s offense can find improvement in 2026. That digging, for me, keeps […]

MLB

1 day ago | 0 reads

Cincinnati Reds head to MLB Winter Meetings hungry for deals

Executives from all Major League Baseball franchises will begin to descend upon Orlando, Florida today for the annual Winter Meetings, with the next few days paramount in the advancement of all offseason transactions. Agents for available players will be on hand, deals will be hashed out into the wee hours of the morning, and by […]

MLB

2 days ago | 0 reads

Reds Free Agent Target – 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn

As the Cincinnati Reds continue their epic quest to somehow land free agent slugger Kyle Schwarber in free agency, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the Disney-ness of the storyline. He’s from the area, he’s the perfect lineup fit, he’s what will put the Reds over the top for the first time in […]

MLB

4 days ago | 0 reads

Cincinnati Reds links – Pagán signing reactions, Winter Meetings preview

The Cincinnati Reds reunited with closer Emilio Pagán on Wednesday, inking the righty to a deal worth up to $20 million over two years. It includes a player option for the 2027 season at an equal $10 million salary to the one he’ll earn in 2026, and brings back the guy who took the closer’s […]

MLB

5 days ago | 0 reads

BREAKING: Reds to re-sign closer Emilio Pagán to two-year contract

The Cincinnati Reds made their first splash of the Hot Stove season on Wednesday night, reportedly agreeing to bring back closer Emilio Pagán on a two-year, $20 million contract that includes an opt-out clause after the 2026 season. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and Mark Feinsand relayed the news. The Reds were in clear need of a […]

MLB

6 days ago | 0 reads

Method to the madness: why the Reds are still in on Kyle Schwarber

You can take as many grains of salt as you see fit before considering a possible signing of slugger Kyle Schwarber by the Cincinnati Reds, of all clubs. If you’re here, you know the obvious connection – yes, he’s from just up the road from Cincinnati in Middletown, and still calls that part of the […]

MLB

6 days ago | 1 read

Reds land pick in Competitive Balance Round B for 2026 draft

The Cincinnati Reds play in one of the smaller markets in all of Major League Baseball, something COO Phil Castellini will effectively tell you whilst introducing himself. Considering that for most of the last three decades the team itself has been terrible on the field, they’re also one perennially one of the lower-attended teams during […]

7 days ago | 1 read

How the Reds could fit Kyle Schwarber and an entire bullpen on payroll

On the back of a 2025 season that saw him hit 56 homers, lead all Major League Baseball with 132 RBI, post a career-best 4.7 bWAR, and walk over 100 times, Kyle Schwarber entered free agency this winter as one of the prizes of the class. By all accounts, his patience at the plate and […]

MLB

8 days ago | 1 read

If free agents simply signed where they grew up

The Cincinnati Reds need to hit more dingers, and there’s a hulking dinger-honker in free agency who grew up just down the road from Cincinnati in Middletown. So, when you head to Google, type in ‘Kyle Schwarber Middletown Reds,’ and scroll past the dozens of AI suggested answers and sponsored posts, you’ll come across dozens […]

MLB

8 days ago | 1 read

A trade concept I hate, but this is the Reds we’re talking about

Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror, and that launches us firmly into the Hot Stove season across Major League Baseball with the Winter Meetings set to take place December 7th through 10th down in Orlando, Florida. It’s a time of little concrete activity, but the next week and a half will feature teams doing their […]

11 days ago | 1 read

MLB Roundup – Cardinals rebuild escalates with Sonny Gray dealt to Boston

It became pretty clear prior towards the end of the 2024 season that the St. Louis Cardinals were destined to begin a pretty epic rebuild. Bloated contracts for aging stars that simply weren’t good enough to drag them to contender status led longtime GM slash president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to announce in September […]

13 days ago | 0 reads

Four Reds boost earnings through MLB pre-arbitration bonus pool

One of the pre-agreed upon additions to the compensation structure of Major League Baseball during the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement was the addition of an annual $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool. In essence, it’s a way to compensate newer players who haven’t logged enough service time to reach their arbitration (read: bigger earning) years […]

MLB

14 days ago | 0 reads

Reds bring back RHP Carson Spiers on minor league deal

Carson Spiers has appaeared in 29 games for the Cincinnati Reds across the last three seasons, pitching to a 5.69 ERA (79 ERA+) and 5.28 FIP across 117.0 IP. He’s been versatile – 14 of his outings have been starts, and he’s managed to finish 6 games in that time – and that’s been valuable […]

14 days ago | 0 reads

Mets, Rangers posture through huge trade of Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo

Major League Baseball’s offseason is still in its infancy, yet the New York Mets and Texas Rangers shook its pillars late on Sunday evening. The two sides came to an agreement on a deal that sent second baseman Marcus Semien to Queens and outfielder Brandon Nimmo to Arlington, an extremely rare one-for-one swap of nine-figure […]

15 days ago | 2 reads

Reds non-tender Will Banfield, Roddery Muñoz, Carson Spiers

As Friday’s deadline to tender contracts to all arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players neared, questions arose about which of the litany of players in that category would still be on the roster of the Cincinnati Reds by day’s end. Some 14 players who finished the 2025 season on Cincinnati’s roster were originally destined to go through […]

18 days ago | 2 reads

We’ll learn a lot about the 2026 Reds with today’s Gavin Lux decision

The deadline to tender contracts to all players in their pre-arbitration and arbitration years is this Friday evening, and it gives a perennial glimpse into how teams operate their budgets at the margins. Almost by definition, pre-arb and arb players aren’t truly ‘expensive’ just yet. They are either gaining enough service time to finally get […]

18 days ago | 3 reads

Elly De La Cruz played through a torn quad, and here’s the context

Elly De La Cruz cruised into the 2025 All Star Game with an .854 OPS to his name, having hit a cool .284/.359/.495 in his second full season as a Major Leaguer. He’d hit 18 homers and swiped 25 bags through 97 games, putting him on a full-season 30/40 pace – all while being the […]

MLB

19 days ago | 2 reads

ZiPS projections see 2026 Cincinnati Reds as just about average

Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs (hi, Dan!) and his basement supercomputer have been hard at work getting the ZiPS projections for the 2026 season ready, and today marked the drop of those for the Cincinnati Reds. Keep in mind that the model used here includes players who were on the Reds for the 2025 season and […]

20 days ago | 1 read

Cross Taylor Ward off Cincinnati’s offseason shopping list

Since Jesse Winker was dealt to the Seattle Mariners after the 2021 MLB season, the Cincinnati Reds have leaned hard into refusing to address their corner outfield situation long-term. Instead, they’ve relied on a steady stream of over-30 guys brought in for one year (if that), the likes of Tommy Pham, Wil Myers, and most […]

20 days ago | 0 reads

Reds add trio of top prospects to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 Draft

The deadline for Major League Baseball clubs to add players to their 40-man rosters to prevent them being exposed during December’s Rule 5 Draft was on Tuesday at 4 PM ET. The Cincinnati Reds did not let it pass without protecting a trio of their best and brightest prospects, officially adding shortstop Edwin Arroyo, shortstop […]

21 days ago | 1 read

Deadline to protect players from Rule 5 Draft is today

Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 Draft isn’t until December 10th, but today (Tuesday, November 18th) marks the deadline for teams to protect prospects who would otherwise be draft-eligible by adding them to their 40-man rosters. Teams have until 6 PM ET this evening to make additions, and the Cincinnati Reds have several key pieces from […]

21 days ago | 1 read

Shin-Soo Choo, Edwin Encarnacion headline newcomers on 2026 Hall of Fame ballot

The names on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for 2026 were released on Monday afternoon, and there are several with previous ties to the Cincinnati Reds. Chief among them are outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and 3B/DH Edwin Encarnacion and, presumably, the parrot on his shoulder. Ryan Thibodaux relayed the latest ballot on Bluesky, with the […]

22 days ago | 0 reads