Cincinnati

Reds

Fascinating is that Stewart has now hit cleanup ahead of Eugenio Suárez in back-to-back games. We figured it’d take at least a couple of months for that to happen, but he truly does seem like the best choice. He’s hit .357/.471/.667 this spring after crushing it in the minors and in his brief major league audition in September. He might well prove to the biggest bargain in this year’s drafts.

Abbott gave up a two-run homer in the second and then two more runs after being pulled in the fourth, which he would have been out of already if not for a Sal Stewart error. He came back out for the fifth and gave up one more run after a leadoff double, though he retired three straight afterwards. In all, it was a better night than the line suggests. Abbott ends the spring with a 12.74 ERA. He’s not someone we recommend, but that’s because he’s an extreme flyball pitcher with a middling strikeout rate in a tough ballpark for pitchers; it doesn’t have anything to do with the poor spring.

Bleday’s option is a little surprising, as it appeared he was on his way to being on the strong side of a platoon in left. It appears this opens a spot Nathaniel Lowe on the bench to open 2026. There’s a very good chance he’ll be the first name up when Cincinnati needs a replacement, but obviously Bleday is nathnot someone who needs to be on fantasy rosters right now. Hinds and Maxwell are just organizatonal depth, even with Hinds’ possessing impressive power.

McLain joins Shea Langerliers as the spring leaders with seven homers. He’s also tops with 17 runs scored while primarily working as the Reds’ No. 2 hitter, a role he’s now certain to carry into the regular season.

Back from Tommy John, Williamson has earned a spot on Cincinnati’s roster with his 1.65 ERA this spring. It sounds like he’ll be paired with Chase Burns for now, with one or both throwing four or five innings at a time.

Steer hasn’t added to his case for playing time while hitting .214/.327/.381 this spring. Terry Francona stood by him throughout last year, and he turned in his best month in September, hitting .255/.369/.509. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all works out. Steer can play left, but the Reds probably have better options against righties. He could start at first if Ke’Bryan Hayes gets benched. Right now, though, it looks like he might be on the short side of a platoon.

Singer told reporters that the blister issue that cuased him to leave Wednesday’s start is “pretty much gone.” Assuming no flare ups, he should be ready to roll for the regular season.

Mey has struggled to an inflated 11.57 ERA across seven innings this spring. The flame-throwing 24-year-old will open the regular season back in the minors but should make his way to Cincinnati before too long. He’s made 13 relief appearances for the Reds over the past two years.

Hayes is 6-for-30 with one extra-base hit this spring, and it’s going to be interesting to see just how committed the Reds are to him at third if he doesn’t hit early in the regular season. They have four theoretical alternatives at third in Eugenio Suárez, Sal Stewart, Spencer Steer and Noelvi Marte. Suárez started there three times before leaving for the WBC, suggesting that he might be Francona’s preferred choice. Stewart has played there just once, while the other two haven’t been used there at all. Christian Encarnacion-Strand also got three starts at third before being sent down. Most likely, Hayes is going to be the everyday guy at the beginning of the season, but the Reds might be tempted to keep Nathaniel Lowe on the roster if they want to think of Hayes as more of a part-timer.

Stewart went deep for the third time this spring when he took Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz out to right field in the third inning of this one. The power-hitting 22-year-old corner infielder has flashed a little bit of everything this spring, batting .333 (12-for-36) with four steals in 15 games. There are some playing time questions that need to be answered but he’s simply too talented for Reds manager Terry Francona to leave on the bench.