The Cincinnati Reds are going into one of their most important offseasons in recent memory. With several holes to fill both on offense and on the pitching staff. They have key players facing arbitration for the first time. The team will have several question marks on their upcoming budget.
There's A Lot Of Work To Do This Offseason
The Reds have an estimated $42.7 million going into arbitration this offseason, with Elly De La Cruz potentially commanding $7.9 million of that. If they do not pick up their end of Eugenio Suarez and Pierce Johnson's club options and if Emilio Pagan exercises his $10 million player option, that puts the Reds’ estimated payroll at $83 million.
The Reds are expected to have around $60 million available to spend this offseason. This number includes expected arbitration numbers and a potential qualifying offer to Brady Singer. With pre-arbitration players, arbitration numbers, and players already under contract, that puts the estimated payroll at around $98 million.
The team's payroll for 2026 was at $129 million. If the arbitration numbers end up being what is projected, that leaves them with around $32 million to spend in free agency with a lot of holes to fill. They are facing losing both Tyler Stephenson and Brady Singer to free agency with no Major League-ready depth to replace them. The Reds could offer Singer a $23 million qualifying offer, but there's no guarantee that he accepts it; with his performance this season, that is a huge risk to take, and they can always offer him a multi-year contract at a lower number.
Losing Stephenson is another huge loss. The Reds will need to find another catcher to have the bulk of the playing time behind the plate. Jose Trevino and Will Banfield are the only catchers currently on the 40-man roster. This also does not include how bad this team was last season. They were last in many offensive and pitching statistical categories last season; they have to find a way to get better, and relying on the current internal options isn't going to be enough.
More Questions Than Answers Going Into 2027
This offseason is a pivotal one. With De La Cruz going into his first year of arbitration, the team faces the reality of life without him, with him only getting more expensive from here on out. Outside of De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, there was nobody who was a reliable offensive player that could be relied upon.
Ke'Bryan Hayes took a big step back both on offense and defense. That's with the expectation that he wasn't going to be a good hitter in the first place. He's only getting older, and the injuries are concerning. He is going to be owed $30 million through 2029 with a $12 million club option in 2030.
The rest of the offense has a lot of holes. Matt McLain was worse this season than he was in 2025, with his batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS dipping. JJ Bleday hit 24 home runs, but his OPS was still just .740 and after the All-Star break, it was .627.
As far as pitching goes, the team will be without Hunter Greene for all of next season while he recovers from Tommy John. Nick Lodolo has spent significant time on the injured list over the last several seasons with blisters; Rhett Lowder struggled, and Andrew Abbott was not as good as he was in his 2025 All-Star season. They will also need to address the bullpen. The bullpen was the worst in baseball. The only pitcher who was somewhat reliable was Emilio Pagan, but he struggled before he went on the IL in May and did not return until July 1.
After reaching the postseason in 2025, the Reds won just 75 games last season. With a limited budget, the pressure is on Nick Krall and the rest of the front office this offseason.
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