The Cincinnati Reds have made four roster moves this afternoon prior to their game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Relief pitcher Emilio Pagan has been activated from the 15-day injured list and Zach McCambley has been optioned to Triple-A. Outfielder Dane Myers is now on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder contusion after last nights collision with the wall while making a catch. Taking his place on the roster is Ivan Johnson, who was added to the 40-man roster and then to the 26-man roster.
Let’s start things off by talking about Ivan Johnson. He will be making his big league debut when he gets into a game. Johnson was the Reds 4th round pick back in the 2019 MLB draft out of Chipola College. It’s been a slow rise for Johnson, who reached Triple-A in the second half of 2024 and has been there ever since.
His initial exposure in Triple-A went well as he hit .289/.359/.537 in 47 games with the Bats in 2024. But things didn’t go well in 2025 as he battled some injuries and then had his season come to an end before the midpoint of the year, posting a .715 OPS before he landed on the injured list for the final three months.
This year began with him playing in the World Baseball Classic for Great Britain. When the regular season began for Johnson it was back to Louisville. Things have gone much better for him this season. He’s remained healthy and in his 55 games played he’s hit .290/.388/.489 with eight doubles, nine home runs, and 11 stolen bases. The 27-year-old switch-hitter has done better against lefties this year, hitting .358/.453/.509 against them, while hitting .260/.359/.480 against right-handed pitchers.
Over the last two years in Louisville, Johnson has spent time playing second base, third base, left field, right field, and he’s had a few games in center, too. Most of his time has been in left and at second base, but he’s capable to cover you at a few other spots if needed.
Athletic, Johnson shows a quick bat from both sides of the plate. He’s also got some speed. While he won’t be confused for Blake Dunn, he’s an above-average runner who has been quite successful in his minor league career on the bases. There’s been plenty of swing-and-miss in his game, but in 2026 he’s got the lowest strikeout rate of his career outside of rookie ball. His strikeout rate this season is just 23.6%, down from 29.2% in 2025. Being more aggressive in the zone seems to be the leading factor here, as his chase rate remains basically unchanged at 27.2% this year – but his in-zone swing rate is up from 68% to 75% this season.
You can see the career stats for Ivan Johnson here.
Emilio Pagan is back with Cincinnati after spending eight weeks on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He pitched in two rehab games with Louisville this past week. Each outing saw him toss a shutout inning for the Bats. The timing is good, too, as the team just lost Tony Santillan to the injured list with an oblique injury. They were already without Graham Ashcraft, too. That left the team, for a short bit of time, without the pitchers who began the year as their 7th, 8th, and 9th inning options.
Zach McCambley has had two stints with the Reds since he was acquired in trade in late May from the Marlins. This last time saw him pitch in just one game. While he didn’t allow a run, he only recorded one out and walked the bases loaded before being bailed out by Brock Burke who recorded three outs without allowing any of the inherited runners to score.
There’s some good news with Dane Myers. While we learned last night that he had X-rays and they came back negative, we also learned that he was sent to the hospital because he was still in a lot of pain and they wanted to check more things out. He’s listed as on the injured list with a shoulder contusion. Given how bad his collision with the wall looked, that feels like a very good outcome for Myers.
“He’s listed as on the injured list with a shoulder contusion. Given how bad his collision with the wall looked, that feels like a very good outcome for Myers.”
He’s one tough dude if that’s all he got out of that.
I thought he was lucky to have tucked his head at the last second and avoided breaking his neck.
I’d like to see Ivan get a real shot to play, but he will likely be the bench piece and just come in piece meal and not get any starts.
Maybe, but who plays center?
It’ll probably be Friedl
You had to remind me, Duke.
Myers showed Ryan Freel levels of fearlessness.
That’s a great reference!
I spent the summer after I graduated from high school working in the warehouse side of a factory where the production floor featured mechanical presses pumping out plastic “closures” (mostly coffee can lids for those of an age to recall).
Some of the things I saw mechanics do while working on ill-behaved running presses both amazed and terrified me. The 18-year-old version of me could never decide if they were brave men doing foolish things, foolish men doing brave things, or foolish men doing foolish things.
Some of Freel’s more outrageous plays reminded me of them, and the Myers play last night also came close.
Ryan Freel passed away. I remember him jogging out to take the field next to Adam Dunn. Dunn was like 6 ft 6 inches tall, and a big man, and Freel was maybe a skinny 5 ft 10 inches. It looked like a little kid next to a grown man.
I remember one time he ran into the wall to catch a ball and it literally knocked him out. He was knocked out and laying on the warning track.
When Myers got up and walked to the cart I thought, that’s one tough hombre! Very hard collision with the wall. Glad it wasn’t more serious than it was.
Congrats to Ivan Johnson! It might be a short stay this time around, but with 3 options, he has a chance to stick around the next few years in a utility role. Switch hitter that plays both infield and outfield.
I’m glad to see Johnson get a shot after the year he’s been having. If his bat plays well enough, we’d have a versatile switch-hitting utility guy.
Yep, always cool to see a player who has worked so hard in the minors get a chance to play in the bigs.
Did I miss the coordinating 40 man move to get Johnson on it?
Already open spot.
No, they had a open spot. Added him, and he is up.
McLain out. Friedl in CF tonight. No Johnson.
Maybe Jorge will finally get promoted to Louisville. 🙂
He has been. (thumbs up)
Johnson gets in some games and hits he might stick around and Friedl goes back. Dunn took advantage of his chance and stayed. Friedl this year couldn’t hit a beach ball.
And the poor guy bounces half of his throws these days.
He’s not legit anymore. 🙁
it would seem so unfortunately . 🙁
Guess the Reds gave up on Benson
My guess is he’s the next DFA when they need a 40 man roster spot.
Last I checked, Benson was hitting .500 for Louisville with an OPS over 1,000. Very small sample size of course but I don’t think he’s done. He does need to work on pitch selection, but his ceiling is nearly as high as Marte’s.
I think Ivan Johnson has earned this call up. He’s been good in Triple-A and can hit from both sides of plate. He has the arguments so only has to prove he belongs…
Glad to know Myers has no broken bones it could be a short IL stint…
Reds need Friedl to hit at least as an average hitter he really is doing nothing at the plate this season…
Friedl gets sent down as soon as Myers gets back
Good for Ivan been wanting him to get a shot for some time. Make the most of it
Congrats, Ivan Johnson!
I’m thinking the Reds will move Hayes to the 60 day IL when they activate Greene to postpone DFAing someone. Play Benson everyday for Louisville until the deadline, hope he gets hot and hopefully another team will take a chance on him and we either get a player or cash considerations in return. My way too early post deadline lineup.
Dunn, Elly, Sal(3B), Bleday, Steer(1B), HRod, Marte(DH), Arroyo, Trevino(Banfield). Bench of Banfield, McLain, Johnson, Myers.
Geno, Lowe and Stephenson get traded, Friedl gets sent down
Burns, Greene, Abbott, Lodolo, Lowder, with Singer traded.
McCambley, Phillips, Maxwell, Garcia, Petty, Moll, Williamson, Antone (CL), with Pagan, Burke, Johnson and Ferguson traded.
Subject to change depending on the players we get in return from trades.
Don’t think Ashcraft and Santillan will be ready before the deadline
I could imagine that, but still say it would be one of the most shortsighted management moves in league history
I think Ivan Johnson was called up because
1) he is playing well at AAA Louisville
2) he is expendable. He is not a top prospect, and if he then gets DFA’d with another roster move, this is not a crisis for the Red’s personnel department.
I hope he does great and has a great time with the Reds.
I hear what you are saying, and it makes sense. This said, if Johnson is DFA ahead of Benson, it will be a misfeasance worthy of someone losing the authority to do anything similar with the Reds in the future.
The Reds need to look beyond 2026. It’s just not going to happen this season. The roster needs a lot of work. Who knows how the CBA negotiations are going to do. If there ends up being a salary floor it seems like it will just inflate the value of mediocre players.
Regardless, the Reds need a fresh look. I think Nick Krall will lose his job after this season. I expect Terry Francona to retire. But, the Castellinis are slow to make changes, so maybe Krall survives this. I don’t know, it should be an interesting offseason. The Reds have about $60 million dollars coming off the books. It will be interesting to see how much money is put back into the team.
The 60milllion off the books is somewhat like hitting the lottery. Front office better not give it to the INVESTERS
Francona only signed 3-year contract. 2025-26-27.
Why no promotion for HRod. He is the better hitter?
Because hitting isn’t the only thing that matters.
But also because the role the Reds need filled is that of a bench guy who probably doesn’t play much. You don’t often call up your 22-year-old prospects to fill those kinds of roles. You want them playing regularly.
Yeah. Since he really can’t play CF there’s not an every day spot for him. He’s not to the point of beating down the door but he’s getting better from what I can see.