By MIKE ROBERTS
Regular-season baseball is almost back! What type of year will the Cincinnati Reds have? The team opens its 2026 campaign on March 26 at home against the Boston Red Sox.
Last season, under first-year manager but longtime MLB skipper Terry Francona, the Reds overachieved with the third-best record (83-79) in the National League Central behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. They also made the playoffs for the first time in five years, where they lost 2-0 to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card Series.
Can the Reds get back to the postseason again?
Key Offseason Additions
The Reds failed to land free agent Kyle Schwarber during the offseason. Yet, they did sign slugger Eugenio Suarez away from the Seattle Mariners on a one-year, $15 million deal. Suarez, of course, is no stranger to Reds baseball. He played for the team from 2015 to 2021. Suarez hit a whopping 49 home runs last season as a member of the Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. He was also the hero of the World Baseball Classic for Venezuela, hitting a run-scoring double to plate the eventual winning run in the top of the ninth in the championship game against Team USA.
Other key offseason additions include relief pitchers Brock Burke, Caleb Ferguson, and Pierce Johnson, along with outfielders JJ Bleday and Dane Myers.
The Lineup
The Reds hit only 167 home runs in 2025 – below the MLB average of 188 – so Suarez provides a big boost. He and shortstop Elly De La Cruz (.264 AVG, .777 OPS, 22 HR, 86 RBI, 37 SB), who is one of the most exciting players in the majors, should form an exciting duo in 2026.
The Reds potentially have a fantastic trio of De La Cruz, Suarez, and second baseman Matt McLain (if he returns to his 2023 form). McLain struggled last season (.225 AVG, .643 OPS, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 18 SB) after missing all of 2024 due to injury. Look for Sal Stewart (.255 AVG, .839 OPS, 5 HR, 8 RBI), who has been impressive in spring training, to be a candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. Stewart actually grew up in Cincinnati and has the chance to be the first rookie to bat cleanup for the Reds on Opening Day since 1947.
The Pitching
Cincinnati’s ace, Hunter Greene (7-4, 2.76 ERA, 0.94 WHIP), is going to be out until midseason after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to fix a bone spur in his elbow. The Reds will miss Greene, but they have enough pitching depth to survive. In the meantime, they will open the season with five starting pitchers: Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Brandon Williamson, Chase Burns, and Rhett Lowder. It would have been six, but Nick Lodolo (9-8, 3.33 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) is starting the season on the injured list.
Abbott, (10-7, 2.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP), the Reds’ Opening Day starter, and Singer (14-12, 4.03 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) are rotation locks. Cincinnati won’t deploy a six-man rotation, but will use the Burns (0-3, 4.57 ERA, 1.32 WHIP)-Lowder (2-2, 1.17 ERA, 1.23 WHIP)-Williamson (0-0, 3.77 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) trio in a “to-be-determined” capacity.
While Burns is a fireballing right-hander who can hit triple digits with his fastball, Abbott and Williamson both possess more of a left-handed finesse pitching style. Meanwhile, Lowder fought injuries last season, but has bounced back this spring.
Cincinnati also has a solid closer in Emilio Pagán. Last season, Pagan (2.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) recorded 32 saves, which was second in the National League and tied for fifth in MLB.
Season Prediction
The Reds haven’t reached the World Series since 1990 when they swept the Oakland A’s. Cincinnati probably isn’t going to end its World Series drought in 2026, but definitely has the talent to have a solid season.
A lot of pundits are sleeping on the Reds. But we look for them to win over 80 games again and return to the postseason in 2026.