After presenting their cases to the arbitrator, it appears as if Stephenson and his agent have made the better case than the Reds front office. The catcher will be paid $6,800,000 for the 2026 season. This year is his last year under team control and unless he signs an extension, he will be a free agent next year.
In 2025, Stephenson played in 88 games and hit .231/.316/.421 with 18 doubles, 13 home runs, 37 walks and 116 strikeouts. Those strikeouts nearly matched his 2024 total, when he had 117. But he played in 50 more games in 2024 than he did in 2025 and struggled to make contact last season.
Throughout his career, Stephenson spent parts of six seasons with the Reds. He made his debut in 2020 when he played in eight matches. The following year he took over as starter, playing in 132 games and finishing 6th in the Rookie of the Year Award. In his career, he has now played in 558 games and slashed .261/.338/.426 in his career. That .764 OPS translates to a 104 OPS+.
Stephenson, who turned 29 at the end of last season, will share some time behind the plate with backup Jose Trevino. Last year, they helped the pitching staff lead the majors in ERA+ (ERA after accounting for park factors for where they played all 162 games). The two will look to help repeat this again in 2026 with a cast of guys returning, mixed in with a few new faces.
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