Tyler Stephenson hits three-run homer to lead Reds

The Reds called up Will Banfield as a third catcher on Tuesday, making it easier to use Stephenson as a DH when he’s not behind the plate. Stephenson gets the nod against Matthew Liberatore today even though he’s hitting just .175 against lefties this season. The right-handed hitter actually has pretty bizarre splits. He’s slugging .458 against righties and just .228 against lefties, but he has a 76/20 K/BB in 273 plate appearances versus righties yet an excellent 15/17 K/BB in 74 plate appearances against lefties. With Stephenson DHing, Eugenio Suárez is playing third base and Ke’Bryan Hayes is on the bench.

Stephenson got the Reds on the board with a solo homer in the eighth, but it came with Cincinnati trailing 2-0. The 30-year-old has now gone deep 12 times with 39 RBI in what is likely his final season as a member of the Reds.

It was quite likely Stephenson’s final game with the Reds, as the free agent-to-be is likely to be shipped off prior to Monday’s trade deadline. He’s not quite in as high of demand as Hunter Goodman or Ryan Jeffers, but there’s a good chance those two will stay put, making Stephenson the top catcher moved. He is batting .256/.342/.417 with nine homers on the season.

Rutschman is currently on the injured list with wrist inflammation. It’s unclear whether the Orioles are even going to be sellers since they’ve shown some signs of life recently. Heyman adds that the Yankees are casting a wide net in search of an upgrade at catcher, listing Tyler Stephenson as another potential target in the lead up to next week’s trade deadline.

Stephenson, Sal Stewart and Brandon Lowe all drove in three runs in this game for the Red Leggings. Amazingly, Stephenson had the second most homers in this game, as Hunter Goodman went deep thrice for the Rockies. Stephenson also added a double and his team won, so that’s a nice consolation prize for the 29-year-old. He’s homered eight times in 2026 with a slash of .247/.325/.395 slash and 27 RBI.

Stephenson’s sixth homer of the year more than made up for the Yankees going 6-for-7 stealing bases against him. His one caught stealing was actually because José Caballero overslid and briefly came off the bag. Stephenson is batting .211/.299/.346 with 22 RBI through 60 games.

Stephenson’s home run was his fifth. He hit a solo shot off Michael McGreevy in the third inning. Stephenson also had three hits, raising his average to just .203. Stephenson had one hit in his last 16 at-bats entering play Sunday. Maybe this could be the start of him turning it around at the plate, but he’s not worth rostering in most formats at this point.

Stephenson struck out his other three times up, but one big hit can make up for that kind of thing. The homer was his fourth in 148 plate appearances. Statcast think she’s been rather unlucky, giving him a .406 xSLG versus an actual mark of .285 coming into the day. It gives some hope that he’ll eventually prove useful in two-catcher mixed leagues.

It’s been a slow start to the season for Stephenson, who entered Wednesday’s action with a .184/.280/.282 triple slash. Despite the struggles, he continues to operate as Cincinnati’s primary backstop, with Jose Trevino spelling him on occasion.

Stephenson has driven in just six runs in 32 games. He’s also getting some criticism for a bases-loaded play Thursday in which Ke’Bryan Hayes went for the double play by stepping on third and then throwing home, only Stephenson didn’t see Hayes touch the base and gave the Cubs a run by assuming it was a force play. Stephenson’s exit velocity numbers are actually better than usual, but his pull rate is way down. One imagines he’ll figure it out eventually.