{"id":387040,"date":"2026-01-04T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T09:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/387040\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T09:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T09:01:07","slug":"opening-day-lineup-projection-raises-questions-for-reds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/387040\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Day Lineup Projection Raises Questions for Reds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">We are less than two months away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. The Reds have made multiple moves this offseason, but it still feels like they need more offense if they want to be legitimate contenders in 2026. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6n\">Bleacher Report <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25343849-predicting-every-mlb-teams-2026-opening-day-lineup-version-20?_branch_match_id=1508806383251083641&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=share_sheet&amp;_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTyrSSywo0MvJzMvWr8zIiUwprApwiUqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAR9sRrTkAAAA%3D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">predicted a starting lineup for each team<\/a> in Major League Baseball. You can see their Opening Day lineup prediction for the Reds below: <\/p>\n<p>TJ Friedl &#8211; CF Noelvi Marte &#8211; RFElly De La Cruz &#8211; SS Spencer Steer &#8211; 1B Gavin Lux- DH Tyler Stephenson &#8211; C JJ Bleday &#8211; LF Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes &#8211; 3B Matt McLain &#8211; 2B<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6t\">The first thing that really stands out to me with this lineup is a lack of power, which is the exact same thing their 2025 lineup lacked. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6w\">The second thing that stands out to me is that Sal Stewart is not in the lineup. With Stewart&#8217;s upside on offense, he is someone who should be penciled into the lineup just about every day. He is someone who can provide pop in the lineup and showed that last season. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\">In 18 games after being promoted to the majors last season, Stewart provided some serious thump, slashing .255\/..293\/.545 with six extra-base hits, including five home runs. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">Like I&#8217;ve said all offseason long, the Reds need to find an impact bat that they can add to the middle of their order. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">You can see each team&#8217;s lineup predictions<a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25343849-predicting-every-mlb-teams-2026-opening-day-lineup-version-20?_branch_match_id=1508806383251083641&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=share_sheet&amp;_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTyrSSywo0MvJzMvWr8zIiUwprApwiUqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAR9sRrTkAAAA%3D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> here. <\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">Make sure you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">bookmark Cincinnati Reds Talk<\/a> for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and daily coverage of the Cincinnati Reds!<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">You May Also Like:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/news\/reds-infielder-matt-mclain-reflects-on-frustrating-season-after-loss-wild-card-series-01k6khpavw89\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Reds Infielder Matt McLain Reflects on Frustrating Season After Wild Card Series Loss<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/news\/one-under-the-radar-reds-prospect-participating-in-arizona-fall-league-01k6k3s92pnk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">One Under-The-Radar Reds Prospect Participating in Arizona Fall League<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7h\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/news\/cincinnati-reds-on-wrong-side-of-history-after-another-postseason-loss-01k6jyt0g7j6\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cincinnati Reds on Wrong Side of History After Another Postseason Loss<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7k\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/transactions\/former-cincinnati-reds-all-star-removed-from-braves-40-man-roster-01k6jtyb4se6\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Former Cincinnati Reds All-Star Removed From Braves\u2019 40-Man Roster<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/cincinnati-reds-minors\/exclusive-interview-with-cincinnati-reds-minor-league-all-star-01k6jj5ktst3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Exclusive Interview With Cincinnati Reds Minor League All-Star<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/cincinnati-reds-analysis\/cincinnati-reds-squander-chances-in-season-ending-loss-to-dodgers-01k6hc0rdkqa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cincinnati Reds Squander Chances in Season-Ending Loss to Dodgers<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/news\/sal-stewart-makes-reds-history-in-game-2-of-national-league-wild-card-series-01k6h6wng26k\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sal Stewart Makes Reds History in Game 2 of National League Wild Card Series<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7w\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/news\/former-reds-pitcher-gets-out-of-bases-loaded-jam-for-yankees-has-epic-reaction-01k6h60ntvk5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Former Reds Pitcher Gets Out of Bases-Loaded Jam for Yankees, Has Epic Reaction<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7z\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/reds\/news\/mlb-analyst-suggests-reds-ace-hunter-greene-was-tipping-pitchers-against-dodgers-01k6gx1emwbv\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLB Analyst Suggests Reds&#8217; 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The Reds have&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-387040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}