The Reds Have a Strong Core, Now They Need Everything Else

The Cincinnati Reds have not won a playoff series since 1995 and have only reached the playoffs twice in the past ten seasons. To say there’s been some doom and gloom around the organization and its lack of success would be an understatement, even for a team that reached the postseason last year.

Failing to string together notable seasons has been a theme for long enough that many believe the Reds, especially under the current ownership, cannot do so. Winning consistently isn’t a perfect math equation, but it usually has a strong core at its nucleus. Players who you can count on to provide All-Star-worthy play year in and year out.

September has often been a time to discuss where the Reds would find another star to pair with Joey Votto or a different established player. A time to cross your fingers, hope the 22 year-old in the minors can provide immediate impact, and pray. However, the Reds already have a budding core. Now they need the rest.

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The Reds Budding Core

All winning teams have at least one, usually more, high level players. The types of talent that fans around the league know, not just the one’s in your city. You know, the players who’s jerseys fill the stands. Cincinnati has not had a productive, what I’ll refer to as a core, since the early to mid-2010’s teams. Joey Votto, Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier, Johnny Cueto, and so on.

In my opinion, the current core of Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and Chase Burns has the highest potential that we have seen from the Reds in some time. While Burns and Stewart have yet to accumulate the track record you might want, their level of play this season along with their upside pushes them into this category. They have been that good.

What more could you ask from Sal Stewart? At 22 years old, he’s had a remarkable rookie season slashing .268/.339/.476 with 31 home runs, 15 stolen bases, and a 119 wRC+. He’s hitting the ball to all fields, with power, and showing all of the makings of a legitimate middle of the order bat. Not to mention, he’s the front runner for Rookie of the Year.

Too often, the Reds have had one serious lineup threat but no one to pair them with. Stewart solves that concern and only helps Elly De La Cruz, who’s in the middle of a career year.

This season, De La Cruz has set career highs in average (.283), home runs (26), on-base percentage (.361), wRC+ (137), along with several other more advanced metrics. While he’s not stealing 60 bases like he did back in 2024, he’s a much more complete player. Yes, the swing and miss and mindless errors are still there, but the batted ball metrics, power, range, and arm at shortstop are elite. Improvements against lefties has helped Elly elevate his game to the player we all thought he could become.

Two hitters, both under 25, will be cemented into the Reds lineup for the next few seasons. Both have shown star power, and neither has plateaued or truly reached their full potential. Lineup stalwarts that the Reds can build the rest of their lineup around.

On the pitching side, the Reds have Chase Burns. We saw a glimpse of Burns in 2025 and his stuff jumped off the page. Nearly 14 K/9 despite having a limited repertoire goes to show how filthy his stuff truly is. This season has only solidified that the hype is real.

Across 27 starts, Burns has pitched to a 2.73 ERA and 3.10 FIP with nearly 11 K/9. Yet another under-25 player who has not only flashed superstar potential but has sustained it for an entire season. A 35% whiff rate and 29% strikeout rate puts him amongst the best in baseball, and he is only beginning to scratch the surface.

So, the Reds have two hitters that are truly impact bats and a developing ace. The hardest part of building a baseball team, especially in a small market, is finding the game-changing talent. I believe the Reds have found three of those players.

Now, filling out the rest of the team is equally as important. Cincinnati has tried, and failed, with free agents, trades, and one-year wonders in the past. It’s time for them to show that the trend won’t continue.

Surrounding the Core

While the hardest part is getting the star-level players, and multiple of them, filling out the rest of the roster has been a struggle for the Reds. While Stewart has plenty of team control and Burns recently signed an extension, De La Cruz will enter year one of arbitration next year. He’ll start with a relatively high dollar amount that will increase each of the two following years making him not only expensive, but also on a clock towards free agency.

Cincinnati cannot afford to continue to roll out sub-par rosters over the next three seasons. Not when you have Elly and a fanbase that is so tied to him. The way I see it, the Reds have three seasons left of Elly and will have to show something or they will lose fans. Not all of them, but more than they have in recent years.

When you look at the rest of the lineup, you see a ton of questions. Will Hector Rodriguez be a fine player or something more? Was JJ Bleday a flash in the pan? When will Matt McLain lose his everyday reps, and what the heck do they do with Ke’Bryan Hayes? How about the catching position and the lack of depth?

The Reds have continued to neglect addressing their outfield issues with more established players. They either bring in role players or fourth outfielders and expect more or filter through one-year solutions. You cannot continue down this path hoping the stars align and enough of these fringe players all have career years simultaneously. What the lineup needs is steady, reliable, production.

The rotation is looking like a mess, as well. Burns can slot into the top, but Hunter Greene and his list of injuries has not only removed him from 2027 consideration, but has made him unreliable moving forward. Andrew Abbott is a fine four or five, but he needs to be seen as that and not asked to be something more.

Then you have the two guys who were both selected number seven overall in their draft year. Nick Lodolo, another injury-prone pitcher, and Rhett Lowder. I think it is fair to say the ship has sailed on Lodolo being a frontline starter. His health is one reason, but the inconsistencies in his game are the other.

I have always viewed Lowder as a number four, but now my hope is that he could reach that expectation. Yes, he’s a rookie, but nothing I have seen from him this season gives me much belief that he can become anything greater than a back of the rotation arm. A lot must change for him this offseason. The problem is, the Reds need him to be more.

Then there’s the bullpen. Do we have to talk about the bullpen? How many of the current bullpen arms do you feel comfortable with going into next season? The number is pretty low. I’ll gloss over this section because of how much change happens to bullpens and how much I expect to happen to this one.

So, how will the Reds build out their roster over the offseason? If Tyler Stephenson leaves, there will be a need at catcher. Edwin Arroyo and McLain have not shown enough to make you think there’s not room for another infielder. While the outfield has plenty of recognizable names, they need a true center fielder and upgrdes elsewhere would be welcomed.

Add those needs to rotation help and a bullpen makeover and the Reds have their work cut out for them. A team that has a core, but needs so much more.

Final Thoughts

I have written about my thoughts on the Reds front office and ownership and how I think it is time for a change, so I won’t beat a dead horse. By now, I think we can all agree different people owning the team is the dream, different people making roster decisions is the requirement.

If the Reds are going to reverse their ways, it must start with who’s building the roster because we all know it’s unlikely to start with who’s funding it. Cincinnati has three years before Elly De La Cruz bolts. The clock is ticking.