After the game in Dayton on Sunday the Cincinnati Reds informed multiple players on the Dragons that they would be moving up to Double-A Chattanooga. Among the group of players was the team’s top prospect Alfredo Duno. He’s heading to Tennessee with teammates Kien Vu, Carter Graham, Carlos Sanchez, and Jose Montero.
The promotions were well earned. For Duno it’s just another step in his fast rise. He signed in January of 2023 and was the Reds top international signing that year. While he was a catcher he spent that entire first season serving as the Dominican Summer League Reds designated hitter as he was dealing with some arm issues that weren’t an issue in the batters box but kept him from playing defense. He crushed the ball in his debut, posting a .945 OPS.
Cincinnati felt he was so advanced that he jumped over rookie ball as an 18-year-old and was sent straight to Single-A Daytona in 2024. He hit well through his first 32 games, but he broke a rib in late May and did not get back on the field the rest of the season. When he came back to Daytona the next year he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award and led the league in nearly every offensive category except batting average (where he finished second) and triples.
This season the Reds pushed the 20-year-old from Venezuela to High-A Dayton this season. He didn’t have the best start to the year in some ways as he didn’t hit for much average or power in April, but he showed plenty of plate discipline. When May came around so did the hits and the power. Duno capped off his time with Dayton on Sunday by walking four times and adding in a single in his only official at-bat. He finished his time with the Dragons with a .260 batting average, a .390 on-base percentage, and a .512 slugging percentage. Duno had 13 doubles to go along with 16 home runs and 49 walks in his 65 games played. You can see his career stats here.
The bat for Alfredo Duno is certainly impressive. The ball explodes off of his bat and he’s got power for days. He also shows a good understanding of the strikezone, particularly for his age. Behind the plate the tools and athleticism are there. Even at his size – he’s 6′ 2″ and 248 lbs. – he’s agile and athletic. He’s got big time arm strength to work with, too. With that said, he’s 20-years-old and has basically missed two seasons behind the plate of his career due to injuries. While he’s not exactly raw behind the plate, he is going to need more time behind the plate to continue to develop the skills at the most difficult and demanding position on the field.
Even with missing most of the 2024 season, Duno has rocketed through the farm system. When you consider that he’s also a catcher – a position that is notoriously a slow climb for players – he’s moved at the speed of light. Chattanooga has 63 games remaining this year. It’s likely that Duno remains with the Lookouts for all of them, but given how quickly he has moved through the farm system nothing would be too surprising.
What does that mean for the players who were already at Chattanooga? Who moved up or down to make room?
We don’t know the other moves yet. Certainly there will be some but that news just isn’t available at this time.
Assuming he avoids injury, you’d think Duno will take over behind the plate in 2028 (if not sooner, and assuming there’s actually a 2027 season) for Tyler Stephenson. He’d still only be 22. We’ll all be watching with interest and looking forward to his arrival.
I don’t think he’ll take over for Stephenson, exactly, because that would likely mean he starts Opening Day since Stephenson is a free agent after this season. I have a tough time seeing the Reds having Duno on the club out of spring training in 2027. But 2028? I can see that. I could even see a case for later on in 2027.
So who is our starting catcher next year? If it’s not Duno, and they don’t re-sign Stephenson, Trevino as our number one catcher? Not too sure about that. He’s valuable as a backup, but not a starter. What are your thoughts, Doug?
They are going to have to sign a catcher. Or trade for one.
One year free agent contract. Pry away Gary Sanchez from the Brewers?
Ty Steph has improved his stock by just how good he is at ABS challenges. He is top 5 in challenges won and percentage. I would strongly expect the Reds to sign him to 1 if not 2 or more years before next year. You can’t have Trevino catching every day IMO.
Could definitely see him coming up as a “primary DH, part-time catcher” after the all-star break in ’27, if there’s a season. And, hopefully, if he continues to hit.
Jacob Friend seems to be doing well at catcher, or does he play other positions for the Dragons?
He’s a catcher who also plays the outfield. We will see how much catcher he plays going forward with Duno no longer there as the guy who absolutely has to play catcher as much as his body will allow.
Friend has not caught since his promotion to Dayton.J.M. Faile has caught when a Duno got a day off. Omana has even had a start.
He did catch one game, for 6 innings of a double header.
Suspect Banfield may be part of opening day if Stephenson is not re-signed but when will opening day really be in 2027. August ?
In 2028!
Owners won’t cave this time. The American public is STRONGLY in favor of a salary cap now thanks to the Dodgers.
While I think that the proposals by the owners so far are laughably stupid, I just don’t think there’s much chance we go long without games in 2027.
That’s the final year of all of the national TV contracts. Those are worth BILLIONS of dollars. You go without baseball for a long time in 2027 fans will do what they did in 1995 – find other things to do and not tune in, and take a long time to come back. That means lower ratings and companies aren’t going to give you BILLIONS for that.
There’s just too much money there. Or at least one would think so, for the owners to continue to not go to the table with any sort of seriousness.
Ironically, I find the opening proposal by the owners to be one of the most reasonable I’ve ever seen. And think the proposals the players have put forth were laughably stupid. I guess it’s a matter of perspective. *shrug*
The players proposal is a joke. The owners isn’t much better, but it lays serious ground work. Instead of fighting a cap all together, the players should be fighting to get the floor raised, and getting the cap tied to a fixed percentage of total league revenue. MLB doesn’t have to open their books, but they should be forced to have them open to an independent arbiter agreed to by both the MLBPA and MLB. The owners draft proposals are terrible though.
You guys think that the owners taking half a billion dollars out of the players pockets is a reasonable proposal? That saying you can’t draft high school players is reasonable? That you can’t pay your entire draft class as much money as half of the players in last years draft signed for as individual players is fair? That it’s impossible to sign an actual long term contract as a player?
I’m sorry dudes, but that’s absolutely insane. It’s not serious.
Yeah I can see a shortened season due to maybe a blunted or no spring training, but they will manage some kind of “we both made some concessions” deal. At the moment, posturing is free.
@Doug, both sides have made initial proposals–they are mostly frameworks, and neither side expects them to be accepted as is. The framework of the Owner’s proposal mirrors the one used in the NBA. Obviously, the details matter a great deal. I absolutely want and expect the players to get a fair deal that will equal or better their financial position.
That said, MLBPA’s framework is just more of the same. It greatly favors the league’s best players at the expense of rank and file player, and gives larger-market franchises a competitive advantage in building their rosters. It also produces a ton of dead money.
Most of us are rooting for a CBA that leaves us talking more about baseball than labor relations. The other leagues have found a way to do that, using a cap/floor/revenue sharing model. If the union proposes a workable framework that doesn’t start with relieving the top spending teams of their CBT taxes so they can raise the salaries of the top players or just sign a bigger share of them, I’ll be happy to listen.
I, for one, have had enough of the status quo. Everyone needs to keep in mind that it is fans who ultimately pay the bills. There are many other ways to spend my free time, and I already watch baseball less and less. This has been a long movie, so perhaps you disagree. But I’m no longer interested in debating whether there is a problem–we’ve bickered about this for two decades–there is a problem with the structure of the current CBA–full stop. Most who can’t acknowledge it simply don’t want to admit that his union may be the strongest in pro sports and the worst at the same time.
@Duke,
“MLB doesn’t have to open their books, but they should be forced to have them open to an independent arbiter agreed to by both the MLBPA and MLB. The owners draft proposals are terrible though.”
This is part of the current CBA and has been for years. The books just aren’t open to the public.
I agree with Luke, I thought the players’ proposal was a joke. It had zero concessions to the other side, and had all the new “benefits” on their side. It seemed to signal to me that they don’t really want to negotiate, and are fully prepared to let the season disappear. The owners’ proposal had several things wrong with it, but at least it left room to negotiate.
I honestly don’t get how anyone can take the players or the owners side in this. I’m on the side of baseball fans – and fans want a system that is equitable and gives all teams a fair chance at succeeding.
Great post, BK. What frustrates me the most about the proposals by the MLBPA is how they continue to support a system that mostly just benefits the top 1% of players. I would much rather see the wealth get spread around to all the players. I would also like to see young players get more money earlier in their career.
As an opening proposal, the owners was entirely within reason, then you start negotiating. I’m on record all over the place that I don’t think the players should lose any money, and the cap should be tied to a fixed percentage of total league revenue so the owners can’t do any shenanigans. Rather than fighting the cap, the players should be fighting for a higher floor along with that fixed percentage cap. Fighting to eliminate service time games, fighting to get players who debuted older to free agency faster (something the owners did propose as well). I haven’t seen anything close to a reasonable good faith offer by the players.
@BK I didn’t know they do that already, that makes it simple, just have to negotiate a fixed percentage of total revenues for the cap and negotiate the floor much closer to the cap. Should be easy, but I’m sure they will find a way to mess it up.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if the fans had a union with a place at the seat? Haha…
It would be nice to do some things that benefit the fans. I personally don’t see why owners or players would want teams to be as lopsided talent wise as they are. There’s like the fans of 5 teams that like it, what about us other 25? Give us better odds to have at least a chance.
They’ll probably add even more wild card teams to water it all down even more for a fake sense that we’ve earned a spot. It’s just broken. Once again it will be about the greed of each team and to heck with the fans.
@Doug. Nice post didn’t realize tv contracts are up. That certainly levels the playing field
The TV contracts will loom heavily in the negotiations. MLB is behind the NFL and more relevantly the NBA in terms of national TV revenue. Better parity in the NBA has paid off handsomely for all parties in the NBA. OTOH, MLB got kicked in the teeth on it’s small national contract in the offseason and lossed revenue. Just saying, we have some evidence that the 2028 contracts may disappoint if the structural problems are not addressed. Good labor contracts create vale for labor, owners, AND customers.
Cone on guys it’s an easy answer lady’s and gentlemen your 2027 starting catcher for your Cincinnati reds is Mr Treveno.. book it
What about Carter Smith, at High A Dayton? He’s a first baseman, but he’s had a terrific first half. Actually, much better than Duno. I realize there is a rush to get Duno up here ASAP, but I would think Smith should also be promoted.
Need to see how Duno handles catching at a higher level than High A to see if he sticks at catcher.
Jacob Friend was playing left field for Dayton (catching previously at Daytona, and tearing it up down there). He is also a couple years older than Duno, as he was drafted out of college. It would actually not surprise me to see him up with the Reds by 2028 as a catcher. He seems a more complete (player) catcher, although Duno is officially a “top prospect”.
I wrote all about Carter Graham, and the other guys who were promoted from Dayton to Chattanooga here: https://www.redsminorleagues.com/2026/06/29/cincinnati-reds-promote-alfredo-duno-four-others-to-double-a-chattanooga/
Duno is more of a “most Reds fans have at least heard of him” versus Graham who is going to turn 25-years-old before the minor league season ends and has yet to play a game above A-ball. That’s not to say Graham isn’t someone to ignore – his improvements over the last two months have been very impressive. But he’s quite old for the level he’s been at and has hit well there for two months out of two and a half seasons.
If Carter Smith promoted that will be a story.
Duh….. Just looking at his numbers the other day.
Carter Smith. Riiiiiiight.
Sorry, it was ALWAYS Carter Graham. Still a good looking hitter.
Doug, thanks for your link to your Minor League column. Glad to see that you have a high valuation on Carter GRAHAM. He is older, but maybe he will shoot up through the system. He might have figured something out.
Maybe the Reds got some lightning in a bottle, here.
Graham got the bump to AA, so he’s at least getting the chance to show what he can do against more advanced pitching. Will he keep rolling, or will he turn into a pumpkin?
McCrystal is at least a catcher.
Seems to me they are priming Duno for opening day 2028 with possibly an expectation that there is no 2027 season. In a lockout, non 40 man roster players are still playing minor league games so Duno continues to develop the next season and a half. If the labor dispute gets worked out, they sign a one year bridge starter with Trevino as the backup and Banfield/Higgins as depth in the meantime.
But will the minor league games happen if there is a lockout? The minor league players have a union/ association now that is a part of or closely affiliated with the MLBPA. If MLBPA pickets a lockout or sends down the word, will the MiLB games happen?
Everyone who is not on the 40 man roster will still play, as they are not part of the MLBPA. If you are on the 40 man roster, you have to abide by any strike or lockout. So Hector Rodriguez couldn’t play, but Alfredo Duno could.
The MLBPA was recognized (by MLB) as the authorized bargaining agent for all affiliated minor leagues in September of 2022.
Technically, all minor league players in affiliated leagues from Class A through AAA became and are members of the MLBPA. I believe there is a separate CBA for MiLB, which does not expire after the 2026 season. However, if things get really messy, who can say what might happen in the way of a job action?
https://www.mlb.com/news/minor-leaguers-join-mlb-players-union
I think at this point, Stephenson would be well served to sign a one or two year “prove it” contract. He could get more than he’s making now and not have to deal with the FA market which may not be as nice to him as it would if he were hitting at a better pace. If Krall can’t swing that before the trade deadline, then shop him aggressively with an eye to next season and beyond. The FO can’t sit on their hands and hope magic happens. Act and act now.
If you look at the numbers for Stephenson the past 30 days or so they’re quite good. If he keeps that up the Reds should plan on signing him. Of course if they don’t play on signing him and they’re out of the race by the trade deadline than by all means trade him. As a side note he’s already proven to be very good at challenges which matter more than one might think.
I wouldn’t be opposed to a one year deal with Stephenson to give him another shot at contract year, but I in no way would guarantee money for 2028 outside of maybe a team option with a minimal buyout.
I doubt Stephenson will sign a 1-year extension with the Reds, because he and his agent will figure that they can get a longer deal with another team, especially if he continues to hit like he has over the past few weeks.
Why sign a 1-year deal with the Reds, when he can lock in somewhere for 2-3 years?
“Why sign a 1-year deal with the Reds, when he can lock in somewhere for 2-3 years?”
And since the Reds are not likely to sign anyone until after the new CBA the days of Tyler Stephenson as a Red are probably numbered. He may be gone before the trade deadline.
I agree @Melvin. It is, however, exactly the wrong way to build a team. Build even in uncertain times, not just when everything is going your way.
” It is, however, exactly the wrong way to build a team.”
What I think should happen and what I think WILL happen often aren’t the same. 😉
Who in their right minds is signing Tyler Stephenson to a multi year deal? He has one season of greater than 2 WAR and is turning 30 in less than a month at a position where many don’t age well. He has all of three season of playing more than 90 games, though he likely gets a 4th this year.
It’s intriguing and desirable to have a really good hitting Catcher, but I feel like for the Reds the best fit would be to develop him into a 1B, DH, maybe 3B? 3B may be a stretch, but because of his arm maybe a possibility.
I think the Reds should focus on finding other Catching talent via trade if they do sell at the all star break, or sign Defensive first options that grade better than Stephenson defensively and hopefully can hit a little.
That way you can hopefully speed up Duno’s ability to make the Majors maybe by mid season 2027 or opening day 2028.
Reds need hitters so badly that would be more my approach then trying to develop his Defensive abilities which may hinder and delay his Offensive capabilities.
You never give up so quickly on a good bat at catcher in order to put them in a position with very little defensive value. you are basically taking his value to the team and cutting it in half. Plenty of 1B/DH guys out there who can hit. Catchers who can hit are unicorns. You keep unicorns.
Well said my friend
Giving up on Duno as a catcher would be sheer lunacy
There is absolutely an absence of “catcher” talent in baseball right now. Jose Trevino got a multi-year contract. Think about that.
There should be some dads telling their sons, “The quickest way to the majors is being a good catcher” as that was basically what the father of Johnny Bench told him. Never more true than today it would seem.
Trevino’s contract was terrible by Krall as was KBH’s. Not sure how many teams give either a similar contract.
How do you rate Ryan McCrystal as a catcher and his chances for MLB?
No way. You keep him at catcher until he shows that he doesn’t have the chops for it. Catchers that can actually hit are worth their weight in gold, both for the team he’s on, and for his own bank account.
The other more controversial direction is Duno could be the main prospect to trade to receive a very established say every day outfielder for the Reds maybe during the off-season.
Not sure who that’d be but it seems Duno has pretty high value prospect wise. Not to knock the other current Reds prospects too much but it seems no one else in the farm system could really headline a deal for the Reds to try and receive a great player back. I’m not sure Rodriguez, Petty, Collier etc. are seen as top tier prospects.
Trading Duno leaves a massive sucking chest wound of a hole at catcher though. It is far easier to find OF’s to give you some production than it is a catcher.
Um, you have to have some idea “who that’d be.” Otherwise, the discussion doesn’t merit you any cred at all.
If Duno projects as a #1 MLB level catcher, the Reds should NOT consider trading him.
If he does not project as a #1 catcher, they should very carefully consider whether his bat in left field, at 1B, or DH is as good or better than anyone he would bring back in a trade.
Glad to see Duno in AA. He needs to hit against higher caliber pitching to continue to develop and see what may be an elite tool. In 2026, no one has 1 primary catcher anymore that catches 140 games. Perhaps Duno can be good enough to catch 75 games and then DH/1b another 80. The Voice of the Dragons in an interview a few weeks ago noted his footwork wasn’t good, his throws erratic and some scouts feel he should be moved off catcher now. Now that he is in AA, we can see both his hit tool and catching tool at a closer level to MLB competing against some higher level pitching prospects and baserunners, which should help inform decision-making.
A really good hitting catcher that is good defensively is a luxury in today’s game, and pretty rare. Maybe Duno can become that, but the Reds needs as an organization I think are needing 4-5 every day above average hitters in the lineup. They rarely have this on a given night for the last 3 years or so.
I think if you’re trying to develop Duno into that Unicorn Catcher great hitter, he’s probably not quite ready till 2028. De La Cruz is most likely gone 2029.
I think partly I’m thinking how do you put the best talent hitting wise for the longest amount of time around De La Cruz before he leaves.
I don’t know, my not totally informed hunch is Duno should be moved off of Catcher. But I’d also keep him there for now to see how he continues to develop.
He’s an exciting prospect though for the Reds. If the Reds go way down before the break here, and start to rebuild, I think the future, 28/29 and forward centers around Stewart, Duno, Arroyo, Burns, Abbott, etc. Sadly though you’d probably have missed on building a real contender around De La Cruz.
Unless we trade him, Elly is here until 2030. After the next CBA, maybe we are in a spot to keep him longer. If we are trying to be competitive, I am just fine losing Elly in free agency, i’d rather have his production than a maybe with prospects.
This seems to be what front office wanted, AD to have a slump and then work his way out of it and then promote him. See how he deals with failure and adjust. In regards to Stephenson, I think he should go to the Yankees, he focuses so much on hitting the ball to right field and his bat would play so well there.
Doug, please share your wisdom with me: I read how an 18 year old Duno “jumped over rookie ball, went to Daytona, league MVP, now to Dayton”. He’s done very well at each level and is now 20. Yet the “talk” is about finally making the ML team in 2 years — when he’s 22. Griffey, Jr. was seen as super talented and was in The Bigs at ~18. He hit .264 with 16 HRs in his 127 games that first year. Don’t they think Duno could hit .264 and 16 HRs right now? Thanks,
Non-catchers move faster because they don’t have to worry about learning their position to the level that catchers do. They also get fewer reps most of the time because they can’t play every day because catching beats you up.
But also, Ken Griffey Jr is an all-time elite level player. Using him or ARod or Juan Soto or Mike Trout as “examples” is like saying “Just pitch like Greg Maddux”. People can’t. That’s why there’s one Greg Maddux.
While it doesn’t quite apply to Duno, as an international player, draftees just are not ever going to do the Griffey Jr or Trout thing again. The draft back then was held in early June and there was still like 80+ games a guy could go play in after the draft. Now the draft is in mid July and the rookie level season ends before most guys even sign, so the high school guys never even play official games until the next year. It sets everyone back a little bit.
But no, the chances that Duno could hit .264 in MLB right now when he was just hitting .260 in Dayton are slim and none.
Johnny Bench stopped catching almost every day after 1980. The next 3 starting catchers for the Reds were Joe Nolan, Alex Trevino (no relation to Jose), and Danny Bilardello. Then came Brad Gulden and Dave Van Gorder until the Reds traded for Bo Diaz mid-season in 1985.
I have no idea who will be the Reds C in 2027. Trevino and Banfield may be workable for a year until Duno is ready in 2028.
As we learn annually, a year is a very long time when 1/9th of your batting order offers up a .495 OPS and spends part of the time on the IL or pitching mopup innings in 12-2 games.
I say go sign Gary Sanchez to something like a one year $10 million deal. He’s playing for the Brewers this year for $5 million. .818 OPS last I looked. 33 this year, so 34 next year.
Doug thanks for that SUPER detailed explanation — I just learned a lot! And my (long-deceased) father-in-law always said “It’s a sad day when you don’t learn something!” It sure was a career extender when the DH was implemented. (Wow. 4 games against the Brewers now and we didn’t find a way to have Hunter pitch game #4 on Thursday? That’s disappointing. He sure as heck better be our SP on Friday against the “worst record than us” Orioles!
Doug thanks for that SUPER detailed explanation — I just learned a lot! And my (long-deceased) father-in-law always said “It’s a sad day when you don’t learn something!” It sure was a career extender when the DH was implemented. (Wow. We didn’t find a way to have Hunter pitch game #4 against the Brewers on Thursday? That’s disappointing. He sure as heck better be our SP on Friday against the “worst record than us” Orioles!
A bit of a perennial question here, but on a scale of 0 to 100, there’s still 0 chance the Reds consider moving Duno away from catcher? Would be a monumental mistake, but need to establish a baseline. That done, if the bat is advanced enough, and it shows well in Chattanooga – will he be a mid-2027 callup to be used as the 2nd catcher and primary DH/PH hitter?
I guess I’m getting to the balancing act of catchers needing lots of MiLB experience, versus the obvious need for a power hitting DH with an excellent sense of the strikezone/not-chasing.
It sure was heartbreaking to see Sonny Gray with his 2.69 ERA and Aroldis Chapman with his 2.19 ERA pitching on national TV last night and thinking “they were both once Reds.” Why don’t we keep good people and when are we signing Elly for a few more years? We all know the longer we wait the more he will cost us. And someone somehow in our organization get Suarez to put his big bat on the e ball a little more often . He’s having his worst BA, OBP, SLG, OPS year of his last 5. Right now he’s had exactly a third as many ABs this year as last year, yet he’s only scored 1/4th the number of runs and 1/6th the number of HRs, and 1/4th the RBIs. Come on ES, show up and lead! Gary and Chapman are 2 and 4 years older than you!
It was reported that EDLC turned down an extension worth more than Votto’s contract. Players prefer to play for the larger market teams according to the unscientific survey recently released by the Athletic. It takes two motivated parties to agree on an extension.