O’s acquire Rece Hinds from Marlins in trade

The Marlins wanted to add an extra infielder to their roster on Sunday and unfortunately Hinds got the boot to make room. He appeared in just one game during his time with the team, going hitless in two at-bats including a strikeout. He’ll continue to serve as extra outfield depth at the Triple-A level.

Stowers will get a breather with left-hander Joey Cantillo toeing the slab for the Guardians on Sunday afternoon. Liam Hicks will cover first base while Rece Hinds serves as the Marlins’ designated hitter and will bat eighth for the Marlins.

Hinds hit an uninspiring .121/.167/.212 in 36 plate appearances in April and May with the Reds before being dealt to the Marlins in late May. He was hitting .231/.296/.404 for Triple-A Jacksonville. It seems unlikely that he’s a major part of the lineup plans for the Marlins, but he may make some starts against left-handers.

Hinds was designated for assignment by the Marlins on Sunday, and he’ll get a chance to revitalize his career in Miami. The 25-year-old has been awful in 2026 with an 18/1 K/BB and a .121/.161/.212 slash, but he has shown flashes of brilliance in previous seasons. Still, it’s hard to have much faith in him as a fantasy option if/when he gets a call.

The Reds needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the promotion of P.J. Higgins on Sunday and unfortunately for Hinds, he drew the short straw this time around. The 25-year-old outfielder slashed a pitiful .121/.167/.212 with an 18/1 K/BB ratio in 36 plate appearances for the Reds this season. There’s enough raw talent there that another team could show interest on waivers.

Hinds really struggled in his limited action with the Reds, slashing a pitiful .121/.167/.212 with zero homers, five RBI and an 18/1 K/BB ratio in 36 plate appearances. That’s not going to get it done. He’ll return to an everyday role at the Triple-A level to work through his contact issues.

Bleday also struck out three times, so it was a mixed bag, but he now has five home runs and 18 RBI in 88 plate appearances with a .338/.443/.635 slash line. With Rece Hinds going 2-for-17 with seven strikeouts in his first five MLB games since being promoted, the Reds could make a change soon.

The Reds already had the lead before Hinds’ liner into the left field corner, but they definitely wanted the insurance, even if they didn’t end up needing it. Though they’ve faced nothing but right-handers, Hinds, who has typically played more versus lefties in the past, has started five of six games since being called up to replace Noelvi Marte on the Reds. He’s hitting just .118/.158/.176 with seven strikeouts in 19 plate appearances, but he might get hot for a spell if the Reds stick with him.

Hinds is hitting .354/.475/.771 in 61 plate appearances at Triple-A with five home runs and 16 RBI. He is also chasing out of the zone far less than he did last year, and his Triple-A swinging strike rate is down to 11 percent from 17.5 percent. His contact rate is also up from 68.6 percent to 76.6 percent. We’re dealing with small sample sizes here, but Hinds has tremendous raw power, so if he has really made gains in his swing decisions and contact rates, he could become an interesting add on waiver wires. We’d wait to see it first, though.

Hinds has struggled to gain any traction at the highest level, striking out in 38.9 percent of his 95 plate appearances in the big leagues since 2024. However, he has almost nothing left to prove at the Triple-A level after hitting 38 homers and steals 41 bases combined in 206 games over the past two seasons. He’s batting .526 (10-for-19) with three homers and 12 RBI in five games this season. The 25-year-old possesses an intriguing combination of fantasy-relevant skills but will need to prove he can make enough contact to survive in the majors once he gets another opportunity.