Gavin Lux got the biggest deal of the bunch among position players, signing for $5,525,000. The MLB Trade Rumors projections for Lux were lower than his deal, coming in at an even $5,000,000. Lux had a rough year in 2025 when you look at his WAR numbers. At the plate, he was about a league-average hitter thanks to a good on-base percentage. What he did not do was any form of abuse of power. His five home runs were the fewest he hit in any of his four seasons, in which he played at least 100 games and had more plate appearances in 2025 than in any other season. But the big downside to his WAR-related value was that he was asked to play in the outfield, where he was a terrible defensive player. Cincinnati doesn’t plan to ask him as much, if at all, in 2026.
Spencer Steer signed a deal for $4,000,000. His projected arbitration salary was $4,500,000 for 2026, so the team may be a little further ahead on this point. A 2025 Gold Glove finalist at first base, Steer played in 146 games for the Reds last year, hitting .238/.312/.411 with 21 home runs. It was his third consecutive season in which he hit twenty home runs. But he has also seen his on-base percentage decline over the past two years after hitting .356 in 2023.
TJ Friedl agreed to a $3,800,000 deal. When it comes to expected arbitration numbers, there was a big difference here between what MLB Trade Rumors projected and what a player signed for. They had Friedl for $4,900,000 and he signed for significantly less than that. After an injury-plagued 2024, Friedl bounced back in 2025, hitting .261/.364/.378 and being a slightly better-than-league-average hitter. His 2.3 WAR (baseball reference draft) was second best among Reds position players, behind only Elly De La Cruz.
Will Benson closed a deal for $1,725,000. His deal came in at $25,000 above MLB Trade Rumors’ projected number. The outfielder struggled to hit for the second straight season, posting a line of .226/.273/.435 in his 90 games played. Benson showed good power, but his on-base percentage was atrocious for the second straight season. He helped counter that for some with quality defense in the corners while getting a handful of innings in center during the year.
Matt McLain agreed to a deal with the club to exchange arbitration numbers just before the deadline. After missing 2024 with a shoulder injury that required surgery, the infielder struggled to do much at the plate in 2025. McLain hit just .220/.300/.343 – good for a terribly low 74 OPS+ on the season. He did provide value when he was on base, going 18-for-20 on stolen base attempts. In the field, he also profiled himself as a strong defender at second base. MLB Trade Rumors had his projected arbitration number at $2,600,000 and he ended up signing for $300,000 less than that.
Looking at pitchers, it was Brady Singer who led the way with the biggest deal, as he agreed to a 2026 contract worth $12,750,000, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. In his final year of arbitration before hitting free agency, Singer is coming off his first season with the Reds, where he went 14-12 with a 4.03 ERA in 169.2 innings while making 32 starts. His projected arbitration number from MLB Trade Rumors was $11,900,000.
Nick Lodolo will get a healthy raise in 2026 and will earn $4,725,000 for his efforts, which is slightly higher than MLB Trade Rumors’ projected $4,300,000. During the 2025 season, he appeared in 29 games and had a career-high of 156.2 innings pitched while posting a 3.33 ERA, which was a career best. The left-hander also recorded a career-best 156 strikeouts and had the lowest walk rate of his career as he completed just 31 free passes on the season.
Reliever Tony Santillan will be paid $1,800,000 for the 2026 season. That’s lower than what he expected from MLB Trade Rumors, which had his estimated salary at $2,400,000. He pitched for the Reds each of the last five seasons, but 2025 marked the first time he appeared in more than 30 games for the team. The reliever appeared in 80 games and posted a 2.44 ERA in his 73.2 innings pitched for the Reds, while recording 75 strikeouts.
As of now, the team has not made any deals with Tyler Stephenson or Graham Ashcraft. Both remain under contract with the Reds, but their salaries for 2026 are not known at this time.
These deals give the front office a little bit of clarity on how much money they can spend in the future. They probably had a good idea anyway based on their own internal projections for arbitration if they had to go that route, but with things tailored to these guys and getting a little bit of a clearer picture on that front.
This article has been updated as the club announced more signings after the initial publication.
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