The Reds DFA Another Free-Agent Signing in Jeimer Candelario

In a surprising move on Monday, the Cincinnati Reds DFA’d third baseman Jeimer Candelario, their biggest free-agent bat inked to a three-year deal ahead of the 2024 season.

The Reds will eat the rest of what was left on the $45 million contract and move on from Candelario just a year and a half into his agreement.

While moving on from a player with this type of contract is a bit surprising, Candelario made it easy on the Reds.

Slashing .207/.265/.394 with a .660 OPS throughout his time in Cincinnati, those results were far below the level of production the Reds could fit onto their roster, especially for a player who wasn’t keen on the idea of not starting.

An ugly look from the initial signing to his departure, it was one that many fans saw coming. Not all, but some. Luckily, the front office has an opportunity to wash the bad taste away if they are willing to do what they usually haven’t: buy at the deadline.

What Went Wrong

Sure, injuries played a role to some extent with Candelario. After a slow start to the 2024 season, Candelario posted a .759 OPS in May and .893 in June before injury factored into a lousy couple of months and ultimately ended his season.

This season was more of the same. Only 22 games in, Candelario was slashing an abysmal .113/.198/.213 good for a (not a typo) 8 wRC+.

Once again, injury put a stop to the bleeding. During his rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville, he hit .238 while striking out 28% of the time. Upon his completion, the Reds had to active or DFA Candelario, and they chose the latter.

The last sentence from Charlie in the above post is key: “Before the back injury, Candelario was having a “tough time” with getting less playing time. That played into the timing of this decision,” Charlie wrote.

By all indications, Candelario did not have interest in joining the team and not having a larger role than a bench bat.

President of baseball operations, Nick Krall, had some pretty straight forward comments as well.

“He struggled in spring training. He struggled out of the gate. We put him on the IL and thought that would help. We felt this gave us our best chance to win games with the guys we have here versus activating him,” Krall said via Charlie Goldsmith of FOX19.

“It’s a sunk cost if he’s not going to help you. We’re in a better spot with the players we have here.”

It is clear that Candelario and the Reds did not see eye to eye. Bottom line, Candelario did not earn anything. The chances of him rebounding and getting back to being an above-average player were slim to none, and the Reds made a difficult — but correct — decision to move on.

While I give the Reds front office some credit for swallowing their pride and eating the contract for the betterment of the team, they do deserve some blame.

The Reds Signed Candelario To Be What He Never Consistently Was

When the Reds signed Candelario, they thought they were getting a solid, above-average bat with power that could play up in Great American Ball Park. A switch-hitter who could not only balance the lineup but cement himself in the middle of it.

However, Candelario did not consistently prove he was that type of player.

We are talking about the same player who was non-tendered by the Tigers and had to sign a one-year, $5 million prove it deal with the Nationals. A player who had a few below-average seasons with a promising 2020 and 2021, both of which happened before he was non-tendered.

This is not to paint Candelario as some awful player, but instead show that his consistency and floor were always in question. The Reds decided to take an up and down player and fit him into being a key piece of their lineup, and they got burned.

The Reds needed a veteran to help their young core grow and provide stability to the lineup, and instead they wasted a chunk of money, for one reason or another.

Cincinnati has whiffed on free-agent bats in recent memory. Not all of them, but the Mike Moustakas, Wil Myers, and Shogo Akiyama deals were not just below expectations, but down-right awful. Candelario is added to the above list of free-agent deals that did not make it to the end of their contract.

Paying Candelario an average annual value (AAV) of $16 million was always a bit reckless. But, for a market like Cincinnati, you often will have to overpay in order to lure the players you want. The problem is when you whiff, it cripples the team and their finances more than the average organization.

Final Thoughts

Cincinnati missing on a number of bigger (in their terms) free agents makes me believe they could be hesitant to go down that path again. At least not at the same price point. Mid-tier deals around that $15 million range are often hit or miss, and the Reds have been dealt 22 a number of times. Dealer wins.

Now, without Candelario taking up a roster spot, the Reds need to gain back some faith by using that spot to upgrade. Connor Joe cannot continue to be on the roster for the rest of the season. Cincy is in the wild-card race, as of today, and cannot afford to sit on their hands yet again.

Want to make people forget about this deal? Replace him with an impact player within the month. The clock is ticking.