Emilio Pag\u00e1n wanted to remain with the Cincinnati Reds, even as he was exploring his options in free agency.<\/p>\n
However, Pag\u00e1n will be back with the club as its closer after finalizing a $20 million, two-year contract on Thursday. He has the right to opt out after the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pretty easy choice to come back. I like everything that we’ve got going on here,\u201d Pag\u00e1n said. \u201cAt the end of the day, I wasn\u2019t going to make a decision based on who was giving me the most money. I wanted to go somewhere where I felt comfortable, where I felt like I had a chance to win games and be around a special group of people, and Cincinnati checks all three of those boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old right-hander became the Reds\u2019 closer early last season and went 2-4 with a 2.88 ERA and a career-high 32 saves in 38 chances. He ranked second in the National League in saves and tied for fifth in the majors.<\/p>\n
Pag\u00e1n said the one area where he is looking to improve is using his split-finger fastball more. He felt like he established pretty good command of the pitch late last season.<\/p>\n
Pagan is primarily a four-seam fastball pitcher with the splitter and cutter used nearly equally as his secondary pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was times during the year where even though the results on it were good, the movement pattern on it was a little bit inconsistent. And so I finally felt like I got to a point where I know what the action on the pitch is going to be. And if you know which way the ball\u2019s going to move, it\u2019s a lot easier to throw it where you want to,\u201d he said. \u201cThe splitter has, in my opinion, changed the way that I can attack both left-handed and right-handed hitters. And so for me, it\u2019s just diving into being more consistent with that pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pag\u00e1n, who is 28-27 with a 3.66 ERA and 65 saves in nine major league seasons with Seattle, Oakland, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Minnesota and Cincinnati, will be one of the elder statesmen of a pitching staff that has a young starting rotation. Right-hander Hunter Greene is the staff ace followed by the lefty duo of Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo.<\/p>\n
Cincinnati also has plenty of momentum this offseason after reaching the postseason in Terry Francona’s first year at the helm. The Reds finished 83-79 and beat out the New York Mets for the National League’s final wild-card spot.<\/p>\n