GOODYEAR, Ariz. \u2014 The conversation came up during a recent coaches\u2019 meeting. <\/p>\n
This year, the Cincinnati Reds have a strong group of candidates competing for the final spots on the roster. Many of them have a track record of being a good big league player at some point over the last two years, and many of them have tools and pedigree. On the other hand, these are mostly bounce back candidates coming off of down years who might need to make an adjustment to reach their ceilings. <\/p>\n
\u201c(Hitting coach Chris Valaika) has seen some things,\u201d Terry Francona said. \u201c(Valaika said), \u2018I think I can help this guy, but he\u2019s competing.\u2019 Valaika talks to them. \u2018We respect the fact that you\u2019re competing, but here\u2019s what I see. How do you want to handle it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
There appears to be two bench spots up for grabs. The starting nine is about as set as it could be before the spring training opener. Francona has spoken about Will Benson\u2019s role, which makes Benson feel like a likely pick to make the roster. <\/p>\n
Francona plans to give TJ Friedl a day off now and then, so the Reds will need a right-handed backup center fielder on the roster. The options there are Dane Myers, Blake Dunn and Rece Hinds (who plays all three outfield spots). <\/p>\n
That leaves one spot for a left-handed bench bat, or a true backup utility player. The options there are Nathaniel Lowe, JJ Bleday, CES, Michael Toglia (a switch hitter), Tyler Callihan, Garrett Hampson and Michael Chavis (the Reds could also keep two out of the group of right-handed center fielders on the roster).<\/p>\n
Myers, Lowe, Bleday, CES and Toglia have all been good big leaguers at one point over the last couple of years. Dunn was on the Opening Day roster last year. Hinds has untapped upside. Francona called Callihan an interesting prospect. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re good names,\u201d Francona said. \u201cThey\u2019re legit. Sometimes, you bring guys in to fill out the roster in spring training. There are names there of guys who can help us. It\u2019ll be interesting to see where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get to know some of these guys.<\/p>\n
Nathaniel Lowe. Minor league free agent. First baseman. 94 OPS+ in 2025 (100 is league average), Silver Slugger in 2022, Gold Glove winner in 2023. <\/p>\n
Lowe keeps the trophies in his office. \u201cCollecting dust,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a few trophies is pretty cool, but the best of the best have many,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good way to keep yourself motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n
He expects a lot out of himself. That\u2019s why even though he actually took a step forward against right-handed pitching in 2025 and his ability to hit RHP is what his game is built around, he still views it as a down year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere were pieces I was ok with, but I like to have a high standard,\u201d Lowe said.<\/p>\n
In 2024, after another season of being a solid first baseman for the Rangers, he saw a few articles that said the team was looking to cut payroll. Initially, when Texas traded for first baseman Jake Burger, Lowe thought that they\u2019d be a first base-DH tandem and that they\u2019d each play every day between the two positions. But then a week later, Lowe was traded and realized that the writing had been on the wall. <\/p>\n
Lowe opened the 2025 season with the Nationals and hit for power against RHP, but he was worse vs. LHP than he had ever been before. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat killed me,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cIt was the first time I was like, what the heck is going on? You pay attention to those at-bats over the winter and watch where you make adjustments going forward to prepare to go back out there and right the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n
He still hit for plenty of power vs. RHP, and Lowe says he\u2019s as confident in those matchups as he has ever been. The rebuilding Nationals cut Lowe in August to play some younger guys, and the Red Sox immediately picked him up and played him a ton down the stretch. Lowe was really good down the stretch, posting a 121 OPS+.He didn\u2019t feel like he was hot. He said, \u201cIt was good to know even if I\u2019m not at full stride that I\u2019m at a level where I can compete. Even though my personal stats were in the garbage can, I got to push that aside and help a team push toward a postseason run.\u201d<\/p>\n
My roster projection for the 2026 Reds right now would have Lowe on it. <\/p>\n
His ability to provide experienced depth at first base and be a prototypical bench left-handed bat helps the roster in a lot of areas. Also, if someone is unable to play or is injured, the Reds have the versatility to move some pieces around and get Lowe\u2019s bat in the lineup on those days. Eugenio Su\u00e1rez at third, Sal Stewart at first and Lowe at DH is probably the Reds\u2019 best overall offensive lineup versus a right-handed pitcher. <\/p>\n
Lowe, who\u2019s used to being an every day player, said he\u2019ll embrace a different role. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited for a new challenge,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to slight anyone, but I\u2019m trying to get in there and help the team win. If my role on this team is platoon against righties, then kill righties and take advantage of left-on-left at-bats when I can get them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m most productive, I hit for the most power. It\u2019s not something I can sell out for. When you\u2019re in an every day role, you have to take your hits and the power will come. Coming off the bench will be a new challenge, but it\u2019s something I\u2019m looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dane Myers. Joined team via trade with Miami in December. Center fielder. 71 OPS+ in 2025. Career .816 OPS vs. LHP. <\/p>\n
When the 29-year-old Myers was in college, he looked up to Michael Lorenzen. <\/p>\n
With the Reds, Lorenzen was as much of a two-way player as there was in baseball at the time as a pitcher who also made the most of some pinch-hit at-bats. \u201c I thought he was paving the way for a guy like me,\u201d Myers said. <\/p>\n
Myers was a two-way player in college. The Tigers drafted him in 2017 as a pitcher, and he was a real prospect in their system. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking to get fast tracked,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say I felt like the guy, but I was definitely comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pitching didn\u2019t work out for him, and he started hitting full-time in 2021. \u201cI knew it was a long shot,\u201d Myers said. His experience as a pitcher shapes the way that he plays the game. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s known as a standout highlight playmaker in center field. He said, \u201cI remember pitching and thinking that a couple of guys weren\u2019t giving it their all and playing hard defense for me. Now, I\u2019m on the flip side of things. I like to make plays for my pitchers.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Reds traded for Myers in December, I reached out to a source that knows Myers. The source said that Myers has a great, intense edge about him that fans will appreciate. <\/p>\n
\u201c(My edge) comes from being close to being out of baseball at one point,\u201d Myers said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to me to play the game the right way and play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of his ability to make plays in the outfield and his ability to mash LHP, Myers is on my roster protection right now. He\u2019s your classic fourth outfielder. <\/p>\n
JJ Bleday. Major league free agent (has minor league options). Corner outfielder. 92 OPS+ in 2025, 121 OPS+ in 2024, No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft <\/p>\n
Swing mechanics and offseason strength training is a part of Bleday\u2019s plan to bounce back in 2025. But more than anything, what everyone says about him is he just needed a change of scenery. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fresh start,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cIt\u2019s as simple as that. Being around a bunch of good competition will only help you.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2024, Bleday was so much a part of the Athletics\u2019 young core that the organization had him as a part of a small group that visited Sacramento for a preseason fan event before the Athletics opened the year in the minor league ballpark. Heading into 2025, Bleday was on my short list of players I thought the Reds should trade for as they sought out a way to upgrade the lineup. He was established as a good young player with upside. In 2021, he would have hit 31 homers in GABP (playing in a huge home ball park that year lessened his actual home run total for the season).<\/p>\n
Then over the first two months of the 2025 season, he hit .204, hardly made any hard contact and struck out a lot. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was mechanical thoughts and way too many people in my ear trying to fix me,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cAs a result, I got away from what I do well and got away from my own athleticism. It was a tough pill to swallow. No one wants to play like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Athletics made the bold move of sending him down to Triple-A.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good to get consistent at-bats,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cPlaying every day and knowing you\u2019ll be in the lineup, I was able to get into a rhythm of doing what I was working on. That\u2019s a reason why when I got called back up I was able to finish stronger than how I started the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was called back up in August and posted a strong .801 OPS (better than his OPS in 2024) over the final two months of the season. At the end of the year, the Athletics non-tendered him. Bleday signed with the Reds for $1.4 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my belief in the team and the front office,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cI saw myself playing here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He made some mechanical adjustments in the offseason that he\u2019s sticking with (a more fluent load in his pre-pitch movement). <\/p>\n
\u201cI trust it,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cIt\u2019s now fine tuning it. All that I care about right now is consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blake Dunn. Prospect who made the 2025 Opening Day roster. Career 53 OPS+ in MLB. Elite speed, power potential. <\/p>\n
Last April, Dunn felt like he was arriving as a big leaguer. He had a great spring training, made the team out of camp and was making a real impact in his role during games early in the season. His production then fell off badly. One night in Atlanta in early May, a bad bunt attempt from Dunn followed by him getting caught stealing lost the Reds a game. He was optioned to Triple-A later that week, and he hasn\u2019t played in a big league game since that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I was starting to find my footing in the big leagues,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cYou\u2019ll face adversity no matter what. You have to take it head on and work on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He struggled when he was optioned to Triple-A. But then in Triple-A during the second half of the year, Dunn played some of the best baseball of his professional career. Francona said, \u201cHe tore it up.\u201d The Reds\u2019 outfield was set at the time with a lot of depth already (Will Benson was having trouble sticking on the roster), so Dunn didn\u2019t get another shot in the big leagues in 2025.<\/p>\n
Some of his success was a product of mechanical adjustments. Pitchers had been beating him with high fastballs. Dunn changed his stance to be taller, and he held his hands higher and as far back as he could. He simplified his swing, he says, and embraced the approach of putting the ball in play and using his speed. Dunn can hit for real power, but he wants to be more of the style of player that Friedl is. <\/p>\n
Just as important was the work Dunn did on the mental side. Every week, he met with a mental performance coach. They went through Dunn\u2019s week and discussed areas he felt like he could handle better. <\/p>\n
How was Dunn feeling after he fouled off a pitch that he should have crushed, or after a strike call didn\u2019t go his way?\u201cThere were moments where my mind got away from the present moment,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cIf I felt like I was getting frustrated with fouling off a pitch, we talked about a plan I could do in the box to allow myself to flush that and get ready to go. Or what to do after a bad call.\u201dNow, Dunn handles those moments by swiping the dirt twice \u201cto release what had just happened.\u201dIn the outfield, he says, \u201cI\u2019ll reiterate to myself the type of player that I want to be. Mental things like that allow me to relax.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spring training stats don\u2019t mean much let alone results in live batting practice sessions. But for whatever it\u2019s worth, Dunn is crushing the ball. One pitcher called him \u201cBlake Barrels\u201d due to all of the hits he has been getting against pitchers.<\/p>\n
Also, for a Reds team that needs to run more, Dunn said that he\u2019s putting a big emphasis on stealing more bases this season. He has a top-20 sprint speed in all of baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically, he can do it,\u201d Francona said of Dunn\u2019s tools. \u201cYou let their play dictate (the timing and their roles), not what I sit here and say in February.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rece Hinds. Prospect who was Babe Ruth for a few weeks with the Reds in 2024. 9 OPS+ in very small MLB sample size in 2025. Elite power potential, underrated defense. <\/p>\n
Similar to Dunn, Hinds became a different player during the second half of the Triple-A season in 2025. Hinds significantly cut down his strikeout rate and did a lot of damage at the plate. <\/p>\n
\u201cI proved to myself that I can be consistent,\u201d Hinds said. <\/p>\n
Last year, one of the things he was known for in MLB was how his helmet flew off after swings and misses. He wears a bigger helmet now, and that won\u2019t be an issue going forward. <\/p>\n
Francona said that last year, Hinds dealt with the challenge of going from a young guy who was playing every day in Triple-A to a bench player in MLB who was getting sporadic playing time for the first time in his life. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an adjustment period. I had never done it before,\u201d Hinds said. \u201cThere are things I have to learn from older guys who have done it before. You act like you\u2019re playing every single day, and you stay with your routine.\u201d<\/p>\n
This spring, Hinds is set out to prove what he\u2019s capable of defensively. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy power stands out so much that my defense is overlooked,\u201d Hinds said. \u201cI told Tito that I want to show everyone I\u2019m an elite defender.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francona said, \u201cI was really glad he brought that up. You can\u2019t get hits every game. You\u2019ve got to be reliable.\u201dHinds was a third baseman for most of his minor league career. He said last year was the first time he really felt like he had his feet under him in the outfield. Hinds is a fantastic athlete with a rocket arm, and he has put a lot of work into the finer details of outfield defense. <\/p>\n
\u201c(Being a great outfielder) opens up more doors and creates more opportunities,\u201d Hinds said. <\/p>\n
At the plate, he\u2019s looking to \u201cbe consistent and do what I did last year.\u201dHinds, 25 years old, faces an uphill climb to make the Opening Day roster. The Reds will probably need him at some point in 2025. \u201cIt might not happen on their time table,\u201d Francona said. \u201cI get it. Sometimes, it\u2019s hard because if you don\u2019t get a chance to play every day it\u2019s hard to play every day. Sometimes guys get one chance. Some guys get more chances. Sometimes it\u2019s luck of the draw if someone gets hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Toglia. Minor league free agent. First baseman\/outfielder. 61 OPS+ and -1.7 WAR in 2025. 102 OPS+, 2.2 WAR and 25 homers in 2024. First-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. <\/p>\n
Toglia was supposed to be a featured part of the young core that the Colorado Rockies hoped would push the franchise forward. Following a good 2024 season where he posted some absolutely elite underlying metrics (98th percentile in barrel rate) as well as a good traditional statline, Toglia was one of the faces of the Rockies. <\/p>\n
Then in 2025, Toglia was really bad at the plate. And the Rockies opened the season with a 9-50 record over their first 59 games. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard,\u201d Toglia said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to stay together as a team. People get internal. You think, what\u2019s wrong, am I the problem? It\u2019s hard to play that way. It\u2019s a year that should never happen. You learn from it and move on. It\u2019s not the year I thought I was going to have. I adjusted the type of goals I set for this year. Last year, my goals could have been more specific and not as numerical based. This year, I want to enjoy the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toglia was struggling so much that the Rockies had him play 42 games in Triple-A last season.<\/p>\n
According to Statcast, Toglia was above average against fastballs, ranking 64th in the league in run value against that pitch. In 2025, he was the fourth-worst out of 354 big league hitters against fastballs. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2024, I was handling fastballs,\u201d Toglia said. \u201cIn 2025, I stopped doing that and created problems. I was trying to cover up one hole, and another one opened up. The league will adjust to you. You readjust, and when you readjust you might lose sight of what makes you good.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2025, with expectations high, Toglia set some ambitious statistical goals for the season. He has a different mindset entering 2026. His \u201cmission statement\u201d for the season is \u201cdominate the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get a fresh slate and get to write my own history here,\u201d Toglia said. \u201cYou learn from last year and move on. It\u2019s not the year I thought I was going to have. I adjusted the type of goals I set for this year. Last year, my goals could have been more specific and not as numerical based. This year, I want to enjoy the game. Dominate the day, that phrase will give me freedom that no matter how you\u2019re feeling, you can dominate the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
One more thing about Toglia: He\u2019s really into chess. <\/p>\n
Garrett Hampson. Minor league free agent. Utility player. 20 OPS+ in 2025 between three teams, including the Reds, while being in the big leagues for most of last season. Was an every day player between 2019 and 2024. <\/p>\n
Hampson was with the Reds for a month last season, barely played and was with the team during its worst stretch of the season. He still came away impressed with the organization. Hampson wanted to come back in 2026. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy to get the Reds\u2019 call,\u201d Hampson said. \u201cI really enjoyed my time here. There was something different about this group. I know what a winning clubhouse feels like. The way that this group handled itself, I knew this team was going to make the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Chavis. Minor league free agent. Utility player. In Triple-A and Japan in 2025. Former top-100 prospect. Got a decent amount of every day playing time in MLB between 2019 and 2022. <\/p>\n
Chavis opened last year in the Dodgers\u2019 organization and was solid in Triple-A. In his minor league contract, he had a clause that allowed him to opt out at a certain date if he had a chance to play in Japan or Korea. Around that date in July, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy suffered an injury. Chavis knew that it was now or never for him to be called up to MLB in LA. He said, \u201cAm I going to be the one called up? If not, I need to pursue this. I\u2019ve got to provide for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he wasn\u2019t the pick, he opted out to take a contract from a Japanese team. <\/p>\n
There was one problem. <\/p>\n
Typically, \u201centertainment visas\u201d for baseball players heading to Japan get processed in a few days. Chavis\u2019 visa took a month. He couldn\u2019t go back to the Dodgers to play or work out since he wasn\u2019t under contract with the team. All of the trainers and coaches he knew were in-season, so they couldn\u2019t work out with him. How was Chavis supposed to hit? <\/p>\n
\u201cI was at home putting tokens into a pitching machine with nine year olds around,\u201d Chavis said. \u201cOn my life, there were nine year olds. I was playing at a Chuckie Cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kids would say, \u201cWow, you hit the ball hard.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good to know that a 12 year old thought I was good at baseball,\u201d jokes Chavis, who has played in 357 big league games. <\/p>\n
To stay in shape, he worked out at an LA Fitness near his home in Georgia. He stayed upbeat. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a happy guy,\u201d Chavis said. \u201cA lot of guys lose that passion for the game and it just becomes your monotonous workplace. I really enjoy just playing baseball. It\u2019s easy to fall into taking stuff too serious because you care so much. Everyone here cares. You can\u2019t let it overwhelm you and make it too much for you to handle on a day-to-day basis.\u201dChavis eventually made it to Japan and played in 50 games overseas. At the end of the year, he could have pursued returning to the Japanese league in 2026. But now, he\u2019s motivated to make it back to the big leagues for his 15 month-old daughter. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to take a picture with my daughter in a big league uniform,\u201d said Chavis, who hasn\u2019t played in a big league game since 2023. \u201cI need a picture with her in the big leagues so when she\u2019s grown up, I can say I did play in the big leagues and you were there. Right now, she wouldn\u2019t believe me. That photo does carry a lot of weight for me. I\u2019m thankful to be where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the winter, Chavis had a minor league contract offer from the Braves. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey put a time clock on it \u2014 we need an answer in 48 hours,\u201d Chavis. \u201c(We) sent a message to the league. The Reds came in heavy and were very interested.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s in big league camp with Cincinnati, fighting to make the team and get that photo with his daughter. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 WXIX. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GOODYEAR, Ariz. \u2014 The conversation came up during a recent coaches\u2019 meeting. This year, the Cincinnati Reds have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[1558,15056,11897,363,1712,99],"class_list":["post-480860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-baseball","tag-cincinnati","tag-logo","tag-mlb","tag-reds","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480860","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=480860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}