According to Rosenthal et al., the Reds’ lineup as things stand now has only three truly locked positions: Recently acquired third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and star shortstop Elly Dela Cruz are confined to the left side of the infield, and Noelvi Marte looks to be the club’s everyday right fielder going forward. Setting catcher (which the trio of Tyler Stephenson, Jose TrevinoAnd Ben Rortvedt seem fairly entrenched) aside, leaving two outfield spots, two infield spots, and the DH slot for a host of players to jockey for playing time. Spencer Steer, Sal Stewart, Matt McLain, Gavin Lux, TJ Friedl, Will BensonAnd Christian Encarnacion Beach currently makes seven players on the roster for five spots in the lineup, before any outside additions. Steer and Friedl appear to be the best bets of that group to be locked into regular playing time, though Stewart will certainly get an extended opportunity and also have an impressive cup of coffee later in the big leagues.
Friedl has been one of Cincinnati’s best hitters in recent years. Although injuries limited him to just 85 games in 2024, he earned MVP consideration for a four-win season in which he hit 18 home runs, stole 27 bases and posted a 117 wRC+ in 138 games. This past year he looked more or less recovered from his injury-plagued 2024, hitting .261/.364/.372 with less power and speed than in 2023, but a career-high 11.8% walk rate to make up for it. Friedl’s .364 on-base percentage ranked 17th in the majors among all qualified hitters this year, and he will certainly be an asset to the Reds’ offense whether he ultimately ends up in left field or center field. Steer, meanwhile, has been more of an average hitter in the league the past two seasons after enjoying a strong 2023 season, but has averaged 21 home runs and 16 steals over the past three seasons.
Rosenthal et al. suggest that Steer could end up at first base or left field, while Stewart could play first or second base. With Friedl able to play the open spot in the field, Lux having experience at both second base and left field, and McLain able to play both cornerstone and center, there is plenty of room for moving parts in the Reds’ lineup. That’s good news for a team that needs to add extra attacking power, as the Reds can afford to be opportunistic and not worry so much about positioning. If an infielder likes Jorge Polanco becomes available, it would be easy enough for the Reds to simply plug him into second base, allowing McLain and Lux to move around the diamond in utility roles while Stewart takes over first base, Steer shifts to left and Friedl handles center. Alternatively, a first baseman can be fun Ryan O’Hearn could push Stewart to second, or an outfielder like Carlo Mullins was able to push Steer to first base.
Speculatively speaking, it appears this leaves McLain, Lux, Benson and Encarnacion-Strand out of position heading into 2026, although Rosenthal et al. did suggest the possibility that Benson could platoon with an outfielder acquired in free agency, which could be wise if the Reds were to land a right-handed bat with significant platoon splits such as Rob Refsnyder. Keeping these players in the fold as protection against injury and underperformance would be a valid avenue for the Reds, though it’s also possible that a trade or two could be made at some point this winter that would help reduce the glut of positional talent looking for playing time.
Even as the team looks for external help in the lineup, there’s reason to believe that internal improvements could be on the horizon next year as well. Manny Randhawa and Mark Sheldon of MLB.com recently relayed comments from club GM Nick Krall regarding De La Cruz’s health this offseason. While Krall had previously suggested that De La Cruz played through a “partial tear” of his quadriceps late in the 2025 season, he later clarified that it was actually a quad strain that De La Cruz was dealing with. Quad strains are defined as a partial tear of the muscle, but Krall noted that his wording suggested the injury was more serious than it actually was.
Whatever the details of De La Cruz’s injury, the fact that he played through something helps explain his repeated defensive mistakes at shortstop in the final months of the 2025 season, as well as his lackluster .236/.303/.363 slash line after the All-Star break this season. That creates some reason for optimism that De La Cruz will be able to bounce back next year and put together a performance closer to his 2024 form (when he hit 25 home runs, stole 67 bases and finished 8th in the NL MVP voting). It seems unlikely for a Reds club to tap the top end of the market for hitters like Pete Alonso And Kyle Schwarberit is all the more important that De La Cruz performs at star level to anchor the line-up.
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