#cincinnati-reds

#cincinnati-reds

Mills, 68, has enjoyed a longtime relationship with Francona. He worked on Francona's staffs in Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland going back to the 1990s. He spent most of that time as the bench coach. Mills got a two-plus year managerial run of his own with the Astros between 2010-12, though a rebuilding Houston team won only 38.4% of their games over his tenure.

It was a good season for the Reds in 2025, on balance. Hunter Greene replicated his excellent 2024 andcemented himself one of the game's top young starters, Andrew Abbott enjoyed a career-year that saw him make his first trip to the All-Star game, and despite winning just 83 games the club managed to squeak into the postseason for the first time in a full season since 2013.

Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer, Nick Martinez, Zack Littell, and Chase Burns had a whole lot to do with it. Those seven arms combined to start 152 of Cincinnati's 162 games, pitching to a 3.69 ERA (84 ERA-) in 832 innings. Their collective 16.4 FanGraphs WAR and 8.64 Win Probability Added as starters helped the Reds finish with the second-best rotation fWAR and third-best WPA in the sport.

Their pitching staff has been the most impressive part of their team this season, and they were a large part of their success towards the end of the year. Since the All-Star break, Cincinnati's pitchers rank seventh in MLB in ERA. Their offense is led by young star Elly De La Cruz, who leads the team in OPS+ with 108.

The Reds are still in the Postseason hunt here in the final stages of the season and they could ill-afford a series loss to the Pirates of all teams. Yet, it happened! The pitchers' duel between Paul Skenes and Hunter Greene delivered some prime entertainment. Pittsburgh put up those two runs against Greene while Skenes was nearly untouchable for six innings.

Not long ago, the Reds found themselves in possession of what looked to be a borderline surplus of infielders. Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Jonathan India, Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all had varying levels big league experience even before Cincinnati signed Jeimer Candelario to a three-year contract. A wide range of opinions on how to best divide the playing time persisted, but the Reds had the makings of a formidable collection of young bats.

It wasn't long ago that the Reds seemed to have an infield surplus. That has changed quickly. The Jeimer Candelario signing was a bust. Jonathan India was traded to Kansas City. Noelvi Marte tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in Spring Training 2024. Matt McLain sustained significant shoulder and rib injuries and missed all of last year. First basemen Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer regressed, with Encarnacion-Strand's stock completely tanking when he underwent wrist surgery in July '24.

Cincinnati Reds 2B/3B Sal Stewart sure is doing his best to force the franchise to promote him to the major leagues soon, and fantasy managers must notice. Stewart, outside the top 100 prospects in the original Kiley McDaniel list entering this season, has thrived and is among the better options now, appearing at No. 31 on his updated list, published last week.

The Reds placed starter Nick Lodolo on the 15-day injured list due to a blister on his left index finger, filling the spot with Yosver Zulueta.

Michael Soroka's sinker left his hand at 89 mph, and despite the loss, he remains a focus for contending teams looking for talent before the trade deadline.

Cowgill noted that Marte's arm strength in particular makes him an asset in right field, creating more margin for error in throwing accuracy than how he found at third base.

The Cincinnati Reds have been a sleeper team, currently in fourth place in the National League Central, but only 2 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race at 50-47.

Sam Benschoter was selected from Triple-A Louisville, now part of the Reds' 40-man roster. Previously an undrafted free agent, he has shown improvement in 2025.

The St. Louis Cardinals are heading into a crucial week with matchups against the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, aiming for an improvement after recent struggles.