The Cincinnati Reds are heading to the Winter Meetings in Orlando with a focus on bolstering their offense and bullpen after an 83-win 2025 season. Officials aim to address key needs amid a limited budget of around $112 million. Recent moves include re-signing reliever Emilio Pagán to a two-year, $20 million deal.
Cincinnati Reds baseball operations officials will head to Orlando, Florida, for the annual Winter Meetings, which formally begin on Monday. The team is looking to build on their 83-win 2025 campaign that ended with a brief postseason appearance, but faces challenges with numerous roster holes and a constrained budget.
The Reds' primary needs include a power-hitting bat to improve their offense, ranked 21st in home runs with 167 and 19th in OPS at .706 last season, and reinforcements for the bullpen. All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz led the team with 22 homers, but only four came after the All-Star break as pitchers fed him offspeed pitches. The lack of protection in the cleanup spot limited the lineup's punch. While pursuing free agents like left-handed designated hitter Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso seems unlikely financially, the club is exploring creative options, including trades.
Multiple relievers, including Emilio Pagán, Nick Martinez, and Scott Barlow, entered free agency, but the Reds re-signed Pagán, their closer, to a two-year, $20 million contract with an opt-out after 2026, per a source. In the rotation, Hunter Greene is signed through 2028 with a 2029 club option; president of baseball operations Nick Krall stated at last month's GM Meetings that dealing him was "not on the table" then, though offers would be considered if they address hitting needs. Brady Singer, who led in innings, starts, and strikeouts, is one year from free agency and a potential trade chip, though the team is cautious about depleting starting pitching.
Prospects to watch include No. 1 overall Sal Stewart (Reds' No. 1, MLB Pipeline No. 31), who hit five home runs in September during his first big league month. Shortstop Edwin Arroyo (No. 8) joined the 40-man roster on November 18 and is slated for Triple-A Louisville in 2026. The Reds protected Arroyo, outfielder Héctor Rodríguez (No. 9), and infielder Leo Balcazar (No. 23) ahead of the Rule 5 Draft; with 39 players on the roster post-Pagán, one spot remains open. Unprotected was No. 22 prospect Carlos Jorge, who played center field at High-A Dayton last season.
Krall noted the 2026 payroll will mirror 2025's $112 million Opening Day figure, leaving little room for big splashes amid arbitration cases and bullpen vacancies. The challenge is upgrading the lineup through lower-tier free agents or trades.