Today is the day in which players and teams exchange arbitration numbers for those players who are eligible. The Reds have plenty of those players, but several of them agreed to new contracts with Cincinnati today and won’t be heading to arbitration this year. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that deals were agreed to by the team with Spencer Steer, Gavin Lux, TJ Friedl, and Will Benson for the 2026 season. The club would announce three more deals just after 7:00pm as they came to agreements with pitchers Nick Lodolo, Tony Santillan, and Brady Singer. Mark Sheldon reported at 7:50pm that the team had also agreed to a deal with Matt McLain for $2,300,00.
Gavin Lux got the largest deal of the bunch among the position players, signing for $5,525,000. The MLB Trade Rumors projections for Lux were lower than his deal, coming in at an even $5,000,000. Lux had a tough year in 2025 if you look at his WAR numbers. At the plate he was roughly a league average hitter thanks to a good on-base percentage. What he did not do was hit for any power at all. His five home runs were the fewest he has hit in any of his four seasons where he’s played at least 100 games and in 2025 he had more plate appearances than in any other season. But the big drawback in his WAR-related value was that he was being asked to play in the outfield where he was a terrible defensive player. Cincinnati doesn’t plan to ask him to do that much, if at all, in 2026.
Spencer Steer signed a deal for $4,000,000. His projected arbitration salary was at $4,500,000 for 2026, so the team may have come out a little bit ahead on this one. A Gold Glove finalist at first base in 2025, Steer played in 146 games for the Reds last year and hit .238/.312/.411 with 21 home runs. It was his third straight season hitting 20 home runs. But he’s also seen his on-base percentage drop in each of the last two years after posting a .356 mark in 2023.
TJ Friedl agreed to a deal forth $3,800,000. When it comes to the projected arbitration numbers this is where there was a big difference between what MLB Trade Rumors had projected and what a player signed for. They had Friedl at $4,900,000 and he signed for significantly less than that. After an injury-plagued 2024, Friedl rebounded in 2025 and hit .261/.364/.378 and was a slightly better than league average hitter. His 2.3 WAR (baseball reference version) was the 2nd best among Reds position players, trailing only Elly De La Cruz.
Will Benson took a deal for $1,725,000. His deal came in at $25,000 above the projected number from MLB Trade Rumors. The outfielder struggled to hit for the second season in a row, posting a .226/.273/.435 line in his 90 games played. Benson showed good power but his on-base percentage was atrocious for the second season in a row. He did help counter that some with quality defense in the corners, while getting a handful of innings covering center during the year.
Matt McLain agreed to a deal with the club right before the deadline to exchange arbitration numbers. After missing 2024 with a shoulder injury that required surgery, the infielder struggled to do much at the plate in 2025. McLain hit just .220/.300/.343 – good for a terribly low 74 OPS+ on the season. He did provide value when he was on the bases, going 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts. In the field he graded out as a strong defender at second base, too. MLB Trade Rumors had his projected arbitration number at $2,600,000 and he wound up signing for $300,000 less than that.
When looking to the pitchers it was Brady Singer leading the way with the largest deal as he agreed to a contract for 2026 worth $12,750,000 according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. In his final year of arbitration before reaching free agency, Singer is coming off of his first season with the Reds where he went 14-12 with a 4.03 ERA in 169.2 innings while making 32 starts. His projected arbitration number from MLB Trade Rumors was $11,900,000.
Nick Lodolo is getting a healthy raise in 2026 and will be earning $4,725,000 for his efforts, which is up a bit from the projected $4,300,000 from MLB Trade Rumors. During the 2025 season he pitched in 29 games and had a career high 156.2 innings pitched while posting an ERA of 3.33, which was a career best. The lefty also racked up a career best 156 strikeouts, and had the lowest walk rate of his career as he handed out just 31 free passes during the season.
Reliever Tony Santillan will get $1,800,000 for the 2026 season. That’s lower than he was projected to get from MLB Trade Rumors, who had his estimated salary at $2,400,000. He’s pitched for the Reds in each of the past five seasons, but 2025 was the first time in which he pitched in more than 30 games for the team. The reliever threw in 80 games, posting a 2.44 ERA in his 73.2 innings for the Reds while racking up 75 strikeouts.
As of now the team does not have deals in place with Tyler Stephenson or Graham Ashcraft. Both will remain under contract with the Reds, but their salaries at this point are unknown for 2026.
These deals do give the front office a tiny bit of clarity as to how much money they may be able to spent moving forward. They likely had a good idea anyways based on their own internal projections for arbitration if they had to go down that road but with things locked in on these guys that get a little bit of a clearer picture on that front.
This article was updated as the club announced more signings after the initial publication.
Personally, Lux and Benson were a waste of money. Trade them before the season starts
I am also personally a little perplexed as to what Lux’s role on the team actually is, considering he will be making more than the likely staring 1st baseman (Steer)..
Is he insurance if McLain doesn’t hit at 2nd base? And that is a distinct possibility,
I still think that Will Benson might have a big upside, but this is absolutely the LAST YEAR he has to prove that.
Combining what the Reds will be paying Lux, Benson, Bleday and Myers, again, money chasing after a low amount of WAR. About $9-10 million there among those four. And it is possible that TOTAL that these four do not add up to 1. WAR for 2026.
And the Cubs just strengthened their pitching staff by acquiring Edward Cabrera from the Marlins. The division looks tougher, although the Cubs have likely lost Bellinger and Tucker, and traded away their top outfield AAA prospect for Cabrera.
Maybe the want Bleday or Myers?? 🙂
If we don’t sign a real DH (power bat) then Lux is our primary DH. Since they won’t move Elly up to 2nd, Lux will bat 2nd against rights and pinch hit alot. That’s my prediction.
Stewart will be the primary DH and will get the occasional starts at 1B, 2B, and 3B. Lux is the utility infielder who will get about 1 start a week until someone gets hurt, and likely is our primary pinch hitter against RHP.
Don’t see Sal as primary 1B, as Steer is most likely. Sal will mostly DH if starters stay healthy, IMO.
If they are so bad that we don’t want them, what are we going to get for them in a trade?
Not much, but it gets them off the roster and payroll
Not sure I’d roll the dice were I MattyMc after his 2025 campaign (and I do realize the injury recovery played a big role in that).
This has been updated to reflect three more agreed upon deals.
I guess we won’t know the extent of what money is left until the other remaining Arb players sign. Hopefully they can get the remaining players signed before a hearing would take place.
Also, wanted to note it doesn’t seem like Stephanson is going to be with this team after next season. There just hasn’t been any news about him signing a new deal or even a rumor.
Yes, you would think if they can’t avoid arbitration with Tyler Stephenson, it’s unlikely they can reach a multiple year agreement.
If this is essentially the opening day roster, the Reds would do well trading Stephenson, Singer and Lux now. Not sure why they even re-signed Pagan if this was the plan. Reds should just punt on 2026. This team is a 4th place team as currently constructed.
Trade the 2026 free agents and perhaps get a better return. Maybe they could land a few prospects who could be major league ready by 2027 or 2028.
It’s also time to start planning for life without Elly Del La Cruz. Maybe they can lock up Sal Stewart and Chase Burns before it’s too late.
One reason not to settle is that a longer-term deal is in the works. Stephenson and Ashcraft will either sign a long-term deal or have their salary decided by an arbitrator. I don’t think the Reds typically sign one-year deals after exchanging figures with players. FWIW, I expect both players to go to arbitration.
I wonder how the breakdown with the TV deal impacts spending for the year.
The Reds got a pretty good deal on Steer and Santillan.
Saving 300,000 on McLain helps too. I still hope he can be something between this past season and his first season at the minimum.
Hard for me to believe Lux is 1.7 million dollars better than Friedl. 1.5 better than Steer. Just throwing money out the door. All the money they give Lux,Benson,Bleday,Meyers etc could be spent more wisely on a better outfielder who might be able to play every day and produce a better WAR or what have you. Tired of these jokers hoping and praying they hit the lotto on these players . That’s not a way to run a team on ifs.
“All the money they give Lux,Benson,Bleday,Meyers etc could be spent more wisely on a better outfielder who might be able to play every day and produce a better WAR or what have you.”
I agree. It all adds up. To me Krall wastes money on a regular basis and it’s certainly not limited to those players mentioned. He definitely didn’t get a deal on Lux.
Personally If I had to make a choice between a bigger budget or gaining more competence I’ll take the competence. As cheap as Big Bob & Son arguable are they would get a lot less criticism if just hired better front office people. Obviously they don’t understand that.
The differences are because Lux is in his final year of arbitration, and Friedl is in his first. Lux, Benson, Bleday, and Myers collectively make less than $10M. Who do you wish they had signed for a 1-year, $9.42M contract? Of the players you mentioned, all but Lux can be optioned, and they don’t get their major league salary while in the minors.
Also, keep in mind that if the Reds hit opening day, with the current players on the roster, they would need a couple of those players to fill out the 26-man roster as bench players, which would cost about $1.5M for two players at minimum salary. So, there’s not a ton of savings available in their arbitration decisions (i.e., >$8M).
In a world where these guys get this money;
Jon India 8M$
Ryan Mountcastle – 6.8M$
Alec Bohm – 10M$
Mauricio dubon – 6.1M$
I think I’m ok Gavin Lux getting 5.5 M$. Call it insurance.
“I think I’m ok Gavin Lux getting 5.5 M$. Call it insurance.”
For most teams that could be true. With the Reds and the way they talk about finances it doesn’t seem like insurance they can afford.
Should have signed the no name big thumper. Can’t understand why they pass on that guy every year. He’s so cheap and has easy power.
This has one again been updated with an additional deal in place.
” the big drawback in his WAR-related value was that he was being asked to play in the outfield where he was a terrible defensive player. Cincinnati doesn’t plan to ask him to do that much, if at all, in 2026.”
Is this something that Krall has stated or just wishful thinking ?
Krall has said they plan to use him as an infielder in 2026 thanks to the added outfield depth.
https://www.redlegnation.com/2025/12/28/nick-krall-discusses-cincinnati-reds-new-outfielders-plans-moving-forward/
I’m not high on Lux, but I’m still positive on Will Benson. His overall season numbers aren’t great, but does anyone have his splits for his initial stay in Cincy before being sent to Louisville, then his numbers after he came back with the change to his stance and setup (with help from Eric Davis)? My sense is he was markedly better but perhaps the numbers say differently.
Discounting a one-game MLB appearance very early in the season, Benson slashed .229/.274/.425 in 197 PAs through August 1, with 57 SOs. After a 2-week demotion in August, he returned to slash .234/.288/.511 for the rest of the season, but getting only 52 PAs.
His earlier stint came with a .229 BABIP; it was .262 in the later stint. Benson’s career BABIP before 2025 was .331, but only because it was an unsustainable .391 in 2023; he has otherwise hovered near .280. His 2025 hard-hit rate was 53.8, or well above the MLB average of 39.5, and his average EV was 4 mph more than league average. There are certainly some things in his stats that suggest a rebound is possible, although I doubt he will ever hit lefties consistently.
His walk rate before last year was 10.7%, but fell to 6.3 in 2025, so he needs to get that fixed. And he appears to have struggles against power pitchers.
Benson seems like a good man, and I’m glad he’s making some money this year. $1.725 million isn’t a lot in the context of pro baseball, but it’s a lot in the context of a 27-year-old father without a degree or any meaningful work experience other than baseball. Tony Santillan is in the same general boat, too, and good for him.
According to Mark Feinsand via X, the arbitration figures for Ashcraft and Stephenson are:
– Ashcraft, $1.75M; Reds, $1.25M (MLBTR estimated $1.4M)
– Stephenson, $6.8M; Reds, $6.55M (MLBTR estimated $6.4M)
Same numbers I saw. The aggregate gap is $750K. It’s just poor management and ego to not settle when they are that close. Makes me wonder if one or both of these guys are on the trading block. Stephenson almost certainly at trading deadline. He’s a free agent at year’s end and an unwillingness on both parties to bridge a lousy $500K gap doesn’t suggest a resolution that keeps Stephenson here.
actually it’s just a $245K gap, but yeah.
Ashcraft had a sneaky good season in 2025. His ERA was 3.99, but his FIP was 2.72, and he had a ERA+ of 115. His single biggest positive was that he kept the ball in the park, giving up only 2 homers in 65.1 IP, which is less than one quarter of the MLB average. His GB percentage was 12.8% higher than the league average. His exit velocity was 5 mph below league average, and his hard-hit% was 7 points lower than league average.
The difference in his ERA and FIP was influenced some by his .351 BABIP, which was .059 higher than the league average.
So, I think he made the right call in sticking to his guns.
I agree that Aschcraft had a nice year. However, what is keeping him from being a dominant reliever is his continued struggle against RH hitters. He continued his career trend in this regard, and its holding him back from being more than a middle reliever.
Both should be tradeable (almost everyone should be), and these differences are nominal, even for the Reds. Worth the cost to make a case for the arbitrator, but not worth much more than that. On to the serious issues – sign a FA DH, and make a serious trade for an MLB OFer.
And, always look for pitching.
TJ settled cheap. Even without having the projection to look at, his number seemed wrong. But, that’s between him and his agent.
Well so far it seems like the same extremely boring to watch Offense that the Reds had in 2025 heading into 2026! But hopefully some of these guys improve going into 2026.
Yes, most likely 75% chances to improve belong to EDLC and Marte. Then 50% chances to improve belong to McLain and Steer. Oddly, Lux has never played a single inning at 1B in the majors or minors. I expect that Reds will give him some reps at 1B during ST. Potentially he could spell Steer and McLain about 20 games each at 1B & 2B and play about 40 at DH. I know he doesn’t have the profile you want at 1B but he is 2″ taller than Steer. He’s going to play somewhere if he is on the payroll for $5.5M+. Pick the SP mostly likely to induce hard contact toward 3B and let Hayes have those 30 starts, otherwise he should only come in for late inning defense. Stewart will greatly improve the offense at 3B while being close to average defensively. Bleday in LF vs RH (Friedl vs LH) and Meyers in CF vs LH (Friedl vs RH) should improve the offense a bit. In total this amount of offensive improvement along with similar pitching results has a good chance of bumping the win total by 10% (91 wins).
Rather optimistic. Hope you’re right.
Sorry, but I forgot to mention the expectation that Stephenson will start at C almost 100% more than last year. He started only 65 games there last year but 112 games there in 2024. That is lot more offense too!
A few comments regarding Lux.He is truly a professional hitter.He as we know can not and should not play the outfield.If he truly will only play the infield then where does he play barring injury?The Reds are set in the infield and adding to the issue is what happens to Stewart?I mean it took forever to bring him up last year.So how to you get at bats for your #1 hitting prospect and your back up infielder at 5.5 mil per year who is average defensively and has no power.I mean whats left? DH?Come on any time Stewart sets in place of Lux is well IMO dumb.I don’t get the thinking and surely don’t get the price buy keeping Lux.
Singer is not going to acheive QO status this year. It would be awesome to move him for either an A level prospect (60-120 range) that’s close to ready or in a package to get a controlled power bat. He’s one of the highest arbitration figures this year and 13 million is real money in this payroll crunch. It’s just that the lineup is so crowded with mid-level players it’s tough to see how that would all fit.
If you trade for the prospect and free then cash, then it seems like you could make realistic offer to Geno to return as DH. That seems like a big net gain for this year and the future.
I believe you are over-stating Singer’s surplus value with one year of control left. His contract might be slightly under-valued market-wise, therefore he might have some marginal surplus value. But not enough to bring back any sort of elite prospect or “controlled power bat” that “close to ready”.
A trade of Singer would largely be a salary dump and not much more.
Hype – I was leaning that way, and had thought Singer was comparable to Leake (reliable, good enough, adds value, etc.) but after checking the stats he’s better, even much better, than that.
Agree that he wouldn’t return very high level prospect, but there’s great value there in a swap of salaries – a multi-player deal of P for hitter, with others added to level it out, could get a better bat than the FA’s they’re probably considering.
I am not sure. They could get a pretty decent OF’er for 13 million I think. One good note about Singer is he has been pretty reliable in his career. Teams need that kind of starting pitching.
I think if they trade Singer and a good prospect. Think #7 to #12 or in that general area they probably could get an upgrade with some power.
The thing that has bothered me all offseason is that there is a lot of good potential in our starting rotation so this is a place the team can trade from, and they seem very reluctant to do that. I know the team will need more than 5 starters, but I think we have something like 8 potential SP’ers for this season.
Gotta give up good things to get good things. Reds have a surplus, and they should trade one of them not named Greene, Lodolo, or Abbott.
If the Blue Jays sign Tucker, I could see the Reds matching up with them in a trade involving Singer for Varsho. Both players have similar salaries, projections, and just one year of arb control remaining. The Blue Jays would have a bit of an outfield surplus if they sign Tucker.
@BK,
I could see Singer being traded for a comparably valued one year rental OF. And thanks for putting a name out there for context.
However, would Varsho add more value to Reds than the loss of Singer’s 32 starts and 3,1 bWAR subtracts?
We typically need 7-10 starters to get through a season. We’ve already subtracted Martinez’ and Littel’s total of 36 starts. Also subtract Singer’s 32 starts and we’re removing 42% of the team’s 2025 starts by quality starting pitchers.
Having Burns a full season will help, as long as he stays healthy (which young power pitchers have trouble doing). But do we really think Lowder, Williamson, and Aguiar are going to fill the remaining void? They are all injury returnees and while they have promise, they aren’t proven. They all come with both performance and recovery risk.
What other depth do we have to cover the 7-10 starters the Reds typically need in a season?
I, for one, see Singer as a huge part of the team. He’s generally healthy and eats innings on a staff where the other starters take turns on the IL and miss starts.
His limited trade value would almost certainly be less than his own value to the Reds in 2026.
@ATH, it’s certainly a judgment call on whether the Reds are better off holding onto Singer or flipping him for a “proven” hitter. If Singer goes, then one of Lowder, Williamson, Petty, or Aguilar has to make the rotation. Lowder and Williamson have the talent to be in the rotation. Those four either didn’t pitch in 2025 or pitched poorly, so it’s hard to count on that group. Perhaps the Reds can grab a #5 starter as free agency winds down, who would be in their budget. I believe I read at The Athletic that the Reds are open to moving Singer, but not Greene, Lodolo, Abbott, or Burns.
The top 4 (Greene, Abbott, Lodolo, Burns) missed the equivalent of 24 starts due to injury. Note I did not count the time Burns spent in the bullpen against him in that count, and I did consider his starts in MiLB.
Martinez, Littel, Singer made 68 starts as mentioned.
So assuming similar health of starts his year, 72 starts would need to come from outside the top four.
If the Reds trade Singer, they will need to acquire someone like…..Singer.
Sorry, my numbers are off. The top 4 made the equivalent of 100 starts. So 62 starts have to come from outside the top 4.
That’s the equivalent of two healthy and effective starters.
Yep, covering the starts missed by Singer would be a real problem. No argument. It’s all about what combination results in the best team.