The Cincinnati Reds have signed two players to minor league deals for the 2026 season. Infielder Michael Chavis will be joining the organization for the first time. Pitcher Brandon Leibrandt will be re-joining the club after pitching with Cincinnati in the 2024 season.
30-year-old Michael Chavis has spent parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball. The last time that happened, though, was when he played in 48 games for the Washington Nationals back in 2023. He’s played for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Nationals from 2019-2023. He played in 357 games during that time at the big league level. Chavis has hit .238/.283/.401 as a Major League Baseball player.
During the 2024 season he saw time in Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox organizations. In 2025 he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and spent 63 games in Oklahoma City where he hit .291/.350/.547 before he was released midseason so he could go play in Japan. Things didn’t go well with Chunichi when he was at the highest level there, hitting just .171/.267/.352 in 38 games. He would also spend 12 games in the minor league system where he hit .293/.348/.415.
Chavis has played first base, second base, and third base regularly throughout his professional career. He has also seen very limited time in the outfield, with almost all of that experience coming in the big leagues with Boston back in 2020 when he made 11 starts in left field for them.
Brandon Leibrandt pitched for the Reds in two games in the 2024 season. He also pitched in the big leagues with the Miami Marlins in 2020, throwing 9.0 innings over five appearances. His dad, Charlie, pitched for the Reds from 1979-1982. In his two outings with Cincinnati in 2024, the then 31-year-old allowed seven runs on 11 hits – three of which were home runs – and two walks in 6.1 innings.
Following the 2024 season Leibrandt became a free agent and signed with the New York Yankees. The lefty pitched well in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Triple-A, posting a 2.85 ERA in 41.0 innings, but he was released midseason so he could go play in China. He would made 14 starts there, posting a 1.94 ERA in 83.1 innings pitched.
Does AAA have a minimum quota of not good baseball players that we have to fill? If you put enough of these salaries together, we could pr’lly get at least 2 years of Kyle Tucker. Good Grief!
This is one really bizarre comment.
Will,
1) AAA DOES have a minimum number of players you need to have to field a team.
2) The typical AAA salary for a player WITH major league experience is less than 100,000. So, in order to spend enough to cover 2 years of Tucker’s salary, the Reds would need to sign 750 or so of these guys.
3) It’s fine to be upset about the Reds not signing a “big bat”, but to complain about signing guys to minor league contracts (which every team does) makes no sense.
Every team in the Majors has a finite number of “real” prospects in the Minors that MIGHT someday reach the Majors. In order for these guys to actually have a team, and to have other teams to play against and develop, each ML franchise has to fully “staff out” their minor league teams. There just aren’t enough really good minor league players available in each team’s minor league system to do this, especially at the AAA level.
These are not major signings, but every team goes through this during the offseason. Every team.
@jcu
Literal much? I think he had his tongue in his cheek. The Reds do not need you defending their every move (or lack of) the comments..
Will, do you understand how good a baseball players has to be to play at any level of professional baseball. Chavez has been a major leaguer and could be a big leaguer at some point this season if injuries force that need. He hit .291 in AAA last season. Not a “not good baseball player.”
I highly doubt either of these two see major league time unless there are a lot of injuries.
If we do, we are looking at probably a last place team.
Unless a surprise is in the works before Opening Day, it seems to me the Red’s plan to bolster the offense is based on acquiring an average group of below .250 hitters and hope one or more will breakout to jolt the offense in the coming season.
I think it’s based more on the hope that some of the players–EDLC, Steer and McLain, primarily–who were playing hurt last year will have significant rebounds. Throw in Marte’, and the hope that he continues to develop, and you have the plan, little different from the plan for the past few years.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with hoping these guys are better now as they mature. It’s a good plan.
JCU, There’s nothing wrong with these signings given the limited downside but generally hope is not a good plan.
These signings don’t really mean anything at all.
Reading the “plan”. It’s the same “plan” that had the Reds finishing near the bottom in team offense the past two seasons.
It’s a cheap plan, a terrible plan or more precise it’s no plan at all.
A plan would be start moving your pending free agents while you can still get something for them, because this team will have a hard time fending off the Cardinals.
No, using semantics to divide hope into plan and create strategy, with human beings being hired to perform at a high level often enough to compete for a championship, hope = plan in almost every sport.
But what we are doing with this linguistic exercise is claiming hope has no value because it’s not linked to a plan. The plan is for players on the roster to compete at a high level. You can only obtain athletes who are capable of that. We hope they all excel.
I guess, in summary — we’ve begun to regurgitate the “hope is not a plan” and pretend it’s some kind of wisdom that essentially ridicules the Reds FO.
So, yeah … hoping players get better is a plan. Assuming that spending a lot of money is a better plan is not exactly a superior idea.
You can get better players, but you still are only hoping that is a good plan. The Padres and Mets have some input into this strategy.
The plan is for players on the roster to compete at a high level. You can only obtain athletes who are capable of that.”
Both of the players the Reds have brought in had a negative WAR last year. That suggests they are not capable of competing at a high level. But, if you are happy with JJ Bleday in the Red’s starting lineup enjoy the season. Some of us prefer winning.
V4L: I doubt that the Reds view their acquisitions as much more than depth pieces. The high-performance players they’re leaning on (okay, hoping) are EDLC, McLain, Steer, Marte’ and the starting pitchers. Maybe Stephenson, too.
Lifelong “fans” who spend their waking hours complaining about their favorite team are ruining the concept of the forum exchange.
I’m disappointed with the plan too but the plan is plain to see;
– get Noel I Marte 250 more at bats than in 2025
– erase the third base black hole defense the franchise has had for 3 years with KBH (and no more Candy, espinal, or marte at 3B)
– a healthy and bounce back year for EDLC and McLain.
– 500 at bats of Sal Stewart at some position we hope he can play.
– replacement of atrocious left field offense and defense with jj bleday and Spencer steer.
– improved performance against left handed pitching (more platoon options with Myers, Stewart, etc,)
– improved center defense by adding myers and resting Friedl more
– continued best in sport starting pitching
– maintain bullpen performance.
– improved DH production.
This is the plan, whether we like it or not. My biggest concerns are the last 2 items. As a fan of a small market team with cheap owners, I can appreciate the rest of the plan. This is why Tito gets paid.
– continued best in sport starting position
–
FINALLY! Someone laid out the obvious plan all along. Thanks Redsvol. But you’re right, we sure don’t have to like this cheap gamble.
Get ready for bobble heads, fireworks, and concerts.
Reds FO catering to the casual fans,
I don’t get this one at all.
The money of casual fans is every bit as good as that of obsessed fans like us. Should the Reds only take money from people it has vetted as “true” fans? Why even sell them a hot dog and beer, if they don’t know who is the best prospect the Reds have in A-ball?
Do the Yankees do this? Or even the White Sox?
Nothing wrong with bobble heads, fireworks, and concerts drawing casual fans. My issue is not improving the offense and trying to put a PO team on the field.
Yes Ed all the teams do.
Ahima there are not there are not enough “True Fans’ who care about the best prospects to sell enough tickets night after night. If the True Fans want to pay $75 per seat for upper deck three or four nights a week then they have to cater to the casuals fan. I see St. Louis and the stadium is full, Wrigley Field is full. Last year with an exciting September GABP would be 2/3 filled and 20% of them would bethere for the opposing team. I was there for Mets game and there was more blue and orangevin my section than red. So yes the casual fan is going to get a lot of marketing attention orvthe pickings of players is going to be even less.
“I see St. Louis and the stadium is full”.
You haven’t seen St. Louis lately. They barely outdrew the Reds last year.
What’s to get? The comment simply reflects the Reds lack of commitment to winning baseball. Let’s be honest, this organization hasn’t been serious about winning for a very long tim
Here is a concept.
How about you go get good players so a bunch of your casual fans become obsessed fans and spend more money so you can keep your good young players.
What’s that saying…..
“You have to spend money to make money”. Reds owners must not have heard that one before.
Cliches sometimes don’t always conform to reality. The Reds aren’t winning a spending war with the six NL teams that spent more than $100M more in 2025 payroll than the Reds. They aren’t an investment away from bridging the gap. It’s a nice bumper sticker, but there are no guarantees that spending money will make money, especially when it’s pretty clear you can’t keep up with multiple competitors.
You have to have money to spend money. I believe the know they have enough to win the Division which has to be their realistic goal. They will never be able to compete with the Big spenders like LA, NY ‘s, Boston, or Toronto. Regular season ticket sales is their way to more money to spend and that means an exciting Division race.
Bucs signed O’Hearn. It seems like the Reds really are standing pat this offseason. I know there’s still some time to go, but the free agent offerings are dwindling quickly.
The Pirates really do seem like they want to become serious contenders. If their pitching holds up, and with the offensive additions, they might just get there. Where did the money come from? Did they strike oil under PNC Park?
Apparently, they have a different (Better) set of metrics for evaluating players than the Reds do. Wonder why they traded Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds while they were building a better team????
Someone should tell the Pirates front office that Jeimer Candalario is available to play third base. 🙁
The Pirates really do need a third baseman now. What if they sign Eugenio Suarez? And they just might.
That the Reds haven’t signed Geno is amazing. While not my first choice, he was extremely popular with Reds fans and likely would sell as many tickets as Schwarber for a fraction of the cost. No, he isn’t a GG at 3B, maybe he could DH. Or maybe the Reds can find a team to take KBH off their hands.
I would hate to watch Geno strike out all season long. Despite the home runs, a .209 batting average would start to grate on me after a time. Let the Pirates make that mistake.
Personally, I don’t care about a race for third place. Let the Pirates have it. They are not going to the post season either. Their payroll is still lower than the Reds, even though they was able to dump Ke’Bryan Hayes on us.
@V4L, I agree. I thought trading Geno was the right move. He had become HR/SO hitter, less rounded IMO than in earlier years. Nonetheless, he’s worth a lot more than KBH and he would sell tickets. Isn’t selling tickets the main signing criteria for Krall? It certainly isn’t winning.
Suarez is no longer an everyday third baseman. If it were the Reds, he should be only a DH. That could and should improve his production somewhat. At this point, he’s the only player out there that fills an obvious need without creating roster issue.
Lux loses the DH role which is his primary avenue to plate appearances and Myers is probably forced down (I am thinking he has an option). I just don’t think the Reds will cough it up unless they shed payroll by trading Singer for prospects.
Lux? What is Lux’s role with the Reds? DH?
A really sub-mediocre DH. Not much power, doesn’t hit for a high average.
My guess is he is the back-up plan if McLain doesn’t start hitting. Or maybe he gets traded soon. $5.5 million is a lot to pay for him, really.
The Cubs did get Edward Cabrera, a decent pitcher, from the Marlins. But they are likely losing Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger will likely be re-signing with the Yankees. Where are they going to get the offense they are losing with the departure of Tucker? They may not quite be as good a team as they were last year (2025). Maybe the Cubs sign Geno as a DH.
The Brewers (so far) seem to have pretty much been in a “stand pat” mode. They did acquire a hard throwing lefty reliever…but that is about it.
Why can’t the Pirates go last to first in one season? It could happen.
David you need to adjust your thinking to 2026. Gavin Lux does hit for a high average. Last year he hit .269. The league as a whole hit .245. Here’s what that would translate to versus the league average over the past few decades:
2010: .299
2000: .301
1990: .291
1980: .288
1970: .296
He doesn’t hit for power. But it’s an out of touch hot take to say he doesn’t hit for a high average in todays game because he does.
I’m a “No” on the 34-year-old Eugenio. In 220 PAs with the Mariners, he slashed .189/.255/.428 and struck out 35.9% of the time. He is slow and fields like the Tin Man on the Wizard of Oz. He’s a nice guy, but so is my 83-year-old Uncle Johnny.
If they can get him for 1 year, maybe, but a multi-year contract would taste like Anthony Rendon in short order.
@David, “The Pirates really do seem like they want to become serious contenders. If their pitching holds up, and with the offensive additions, they might just get there. Where did the money come from? Did they strike oil under PNC Park?”
According to COTS, the Reds have outspent the Pirates by $174M over the last five seasons. Pittsburgh is also a slightly larger market. As of today, their opening day payroll remains more than $12M less than the Reds. The A’s had a similar spending spree last season. The Pirates are among the teams that it’s pretty easy to argue make money over putting the best team they can on the field. That’s every bit as much of a problem as teams that outspend half of the league in terms of just the CBT payment. I question whether they are spending to compete or spending to avoid a legit grievance.
I wonder if the org that is projecting the Reds to be 10 wins better than Pittsburgh had this move on their radar?
@ Brian
I get where you are coming from, but in the end, his OPS was just .724, which was something like +97 of league average (being 100). For a DH?
I mean, if you get a DH, and the guy doesn’t have to field, I would think you would get (at least) .800 OPS. Just disappointing. Not that Gavin Lux is a bad guy or anything, just….disappointing.
@ BK, I also get what you are saying about the Pirates. But they have made some deals this off-season to improve their offense. Don’t know where that leads them….avoiding a grievance? I get that, too.
It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. (no, I don’t think they are going to sign Geno). But wow, what if they signed Alex Bregman??
They were definitely underspending….but they did unload Ke’Bryan Hayes and get that contract off their books. Hayes had a couple of good years in a row (which is when he probably got his contract). Since then, not too good. While Pittsburgh (city) might have a slightly larger population than Cincinnati, the Cincinnati metro (into Indiana and Kentucky, 18 counties) is slightly over 2.3 million people, and the Pittsburgh Metro is around 2.4 million (just looked this up). Pretty close to the same….and Dayton (just up I-75) sends a lot of fans down to see the Reds (not counted in the Metro area for Cincy).
@David, whenever we think about the regional potential of the Cincinnati metro area, we need to consider it against the regional potential of other markets. Other teams draw from regional populations. As I stated, they are a slightly larger market. Forbes confirms this, having them one place higher on their annual list of franchises than the Reds. Forbes also shows them with much healthier operating incomes than the Reds. Here’s my point: the teams and their markets are about as similar as two can be, and the Reds have outspent them by an awful lot over a very long period of time.
You asked how they were able to add so much payroll. The answer is simple: they haven’t spent to their capacity for several years. I doubt that they will sign any of the top remaining free agents. I doubt that their interest in Schwarber was serious. As I said, they seem to be maneuvering in prep for the CBA negotiations. I’m sure they would be happy to win if it happens.
“The Pirates really do seem like they want to become serious contenders.”
It would certainly seem so at this point.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/cincinnati-reds/news/reds-risk-ruining-relationship-catcher-tyler-stephenson-250000/65dc5cae487d100def60386d?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=appeared_on
The Reds risk relationship with Tyler Stephenson over $250,000.
I do agree with you on this V4L. But at the same time, Reds proposed a healthy raise for a catcher that gave them 300 at bats of 1.3 WAR performance.
He still hasn’t learned how to frame pitches and isn’t good holding base stealers. And his offense is not productive enough to put in the DH role when he isn’t catching. Still, I wouldn’t let 250k$ stand in the way of a 6.8 M$ contract.
I don’t recall when the Reds last went to arbitration with a player. However, with the difference so small, I doubt the hearing gets too contentious. Of course, the flipside is that Stephenson and his agent have a role in not agreeing to the contract as well. The Reds’ offer came in above MLBTR’s estimate, and they are generally pretty accurate.
BK, the last case I remember was Scooter Gennett. I think it was in 2019.
Like this time, the difference was pretty small, but Gennett won the case. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but I think the difference was less than $500k.
I am sorry Redsvol I simply meant to type the title of the article I was posting. I had posted the link before realizing I left the title off. So, I replied with the title. My eyesight is not very good. I am sorry for the confusing. I do apologize.
I didn’t mean to argue the virtues of Tyler Stephenson.
I found the move questionable for a few reasons.
One… is Tyler Stephenson will be a free agent at the end of this year and while he is not Gary Carter, he does provide more offense than any other major league ready catcher within the organization.
Two…it signals to Tyler’s teammates (as well as other Reds employees) what ownership truly think of their employees.
Three… it just reinforces to anyone who can read (especially potential free agents) that the Reds are Cheap and as an employer they would argue against your value in front of a third party rather than give you a few extra dollars.
Regarding Tyler Stephenson. If they are content to let him walk as a free agent, which I think it’s clear they are, then they should trade Tyler before opening day. I know they won’t get much for him, but they would get more before opening day than they will at the trading deadline.
Forget about framing pitches, with the computer generaed strike zones framing skills are a thing of the past.
Stephenson isn’t going to be offended by the Reds’ telling the arbitrator that he only played 88 games last year and that his strikeout rate, which had been at 23.4% through 2024, rose to 33.9% in 2025. He is already painfully aware of those facts.
He’s headed into his free agent year. If money is his motivator, then he should be playing like his hair is on fire, whether the gets the extra $250k this year or not.
The Reds may well be negotiating with him for an extra year, knowing that Duno’s ETA is maybe 2028. They had 9 other arbitration deals to finalize, so maybe they just haven’t pinned it down with Stephenson yet.
And there has been some talk of trading Trevino, who has reportedly drawn some interest.
https://www.si.com/mlb/reds/onsi/transactions/cincinnati-reds-bring-back-familiar-face-on-minor-league-deal-01kehxm786k
Add Garrett Hampson to the list
Fully understanding the need for AAA utility guys, one question that leaps out is, Where does he play at AAA with the 40-man players, recent depth signees and
organizational guys already there?
We have Dunn, CF, Hinds, RF, Rodriguez, LF, Callihan, 2B/LF, Arroyo, SS and CES 1B/3B in Louisville.
Then add in minor league holdovers/signees Francisco Urbaez, INF, Ivan Johnson, INF/OF, PJ Higgins, INF/C, and Michael Chavis, INF.
Given that he hit a combined .143/.250/.169 (OPS .419) with three teams in the MLs last year, even the Reds fascination with his speed may not get many at bats.
Perhaps AAA utility player, perhaps he’s cut after ST. I suspect it will be the former.
I don’t think building a Bats roster at this point is a truly productive use of your time.
JCU, I cannot help myself … its pathological TBH
You keep doing @davect. I, for one, love thinking about the effect on minor leaguers and their teams. I see more minor league games than I do major league.
At about the same time they signed Leibrant and Chevis in December, they also re- signed former ’25 Red, Garrett Hampson and Bat Josh Staumont.
Too bad they lost Lenny Torres to the Phillies. I thought he was one of the better minor league free agents we’ve signed lately.
With Maxwell, Mey, Zulueta, and now Staumont, Lyon Richardson is a soft tossing righty like Bob Tewsbury.
He ought to light up the Louisville radar though. It’s the automated strike zone I would worry about.
Staumont might accidentally be a useful pitcher for the Batlanders. I saw a squinty hope for him at one time.
Noticing other pitchers who are now floating alongside the Titanic, Chase Sugart got DFA by the Pirates. The guy is maybe a touch better than some other relievers out there. Haven’t heard what’s up with that.
May be “accidentally useful” is a great term for alot of the roster. These guys will never be productive big leaguers and Krall will keep shuffling them through instead of signing an impact player. People will keep defending him and use latin sabermetric stats about how hard the ball comes off a bat in night games with less than 2 outs against rightys. Thats the cycle we are currently in until they bring an experienced GM with a proven track record.