CINCINNATI — The Reds entered 2026 believing they were ready to take another step. Instead, they went backward.
Cincinnati finished 75-87, last in the National League Central, one year after winning 83 games and reaching the postseason. The disappointment was not simply that the Reds missed the playoffs. It was how far they fell, finishing with a minus-160 run differential after being outscored 826-666.
And if you want a stat that tells the entire story of the 2026 Cincinnati Reds season, it is this: Hunter Greene pitched in five games, while catcher Jose Trevino pitched in seven.
The rotation was supposed to be one of Cincinnati’s biggest strengths, but injuries changed that almost immediately. Greene missed most of the season (again) after undergoing surgery in March to remove bone chips from his right elbow. He returned in July, went 2-2 with a 6.83 ERA, and then underwent Tommy John revision surgery in August. Nick Lodolo battled blister problems (again) and was limited to 21 starts, going 3-6 with a 4.97 ERA. Brady Singer finished 6-15 with a 5.85 ERA, while Andrew Abbott also took a step backward at 6-11 with a 4.61 ERA.
Chase Burns was the exception. The 23-year-old went 15-3 with a 2.86 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 154? innings, establishing himself as one of the brightest pieces of Cincinnati’s future. But one dominant starter could not make up for a pitching staff that finished with a 4.83 ERA after posting a 3.86 mark in 2025.
The bullpen did not help. Major pieces of the relief corps, including Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft, and Emilio Pagán, all spent significant time on the injured list. Pagán missed nearly two months with a hamstring injury, Ashcraft spent much of the summer sidelined with a UCL sprain, and Santillan missed almost two months with an oblique injury before another injury ended his season.
It’s hard to win when you don’t get good pitching. It’s pretty much impossible if you don’t score any runs. And much like the pitching staff, the lineup was top-heavy with talent while everyone else was, well, offensive.
Elly De La Cruz was excellent, finishing with 30 home runs and an .880 OPS. Sal Stewart emerged as one of Cincinnati’s brightest young hitters, batting .263 with 32 home runs and 111 RBIs as a rookie. But pretty much everyone else was terrible. Tyler Stephenson had moments. JJ Bleday had a few good months. But that’s about it.
Matt McLain hit .185. Eugenio Suárez finished at .212. JJ Bleday ended up hitting .217. Cincinnati scored 666 runs, struck out 1,544 times, and finished with a .229 team batting average.
Perhaps the most frustrating part is that Cincinnati briefly looked like it might overcome all of it. The Reds were 20-11 at the end of April and sitting atop the division, but the early success did not last.
And from this scribe’s vantage point, the Reds played some of their best baseball in years in April. But one month does not make a season, and Cincy was just far too inconsistent the rest of the year — both with the sticks and on the mound.
Once the injuries accumulated and the pitching began cracking, the record followed.
There are reasons for optimism, however. Burns looks like a future ace. Stewart may be a franchise cornerstone. De La Cruz remains one of the most talented players in baseball, and there are still useful young pieces throughout the roster.
But 2026 was supposed to be about taking the next step. Instead, it exposed just how much work remains.
The Reds did not fail because of one injury, one player, or one bad month. They failed because too many things went wrong at once, and they did not have enough depth to survive it.
That is the problem Cincinnati has to solve before 2027.
