The Cincinnati Reds effectively called time for two of their more prominent players on Sunday afternoon prior to the series finale in Great American Ball Park against the Chicago Cubs. For one in particular, it’s more likely than not time called on his entire Reds career.
Cincinnati placed star pitcher Chase Burns on the 15-day IL with a right groin strain, effectively ending his season given how little remains on the 2026 schedule. Replacing him on the roster will be Carson Spiers, who has worked
his way all the way back from Tommy John surgery that ended his 2025 season early.
Spiers, though, wasn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Reds needed room there.
That 40-man spot came at the expense of TJ Friedl, unfortunately.
Freidl, Cincinnati’s regular leadoff man and everyday CF from 2023 through the start of the 2026 season, has seen his play decline precipitously year over year. Last season saw him post a brilliant .364 OBP en route to a 2.4 bWAR season, work that echoed a breakout 2023 that saw him hit .279/.352/.467 with 18 homers in route to a nearly 4 WAR campaign.
2026, though, has been a far cry from that. It’s been a far cry from even a typical regression, as everything from his hitting to his speed, his fielding, and his ability to work walks has cratered completely. Given that he’s heading into his second trip through arbitration this winter after $3.8 million this season, he was an obvious non-tender candidate at season’s end on the heels of his .510 OPS so far through 91 games at the big league level, and the Reds opted to make the cut now rather than later.
There’s certainly a chance that Friedl’s awful year means he’ll be available on a minor league contract this winter, and the familiarity and fondness of him within the Reds means it’s not completely outlandish to think he might come back in 2027 on that kind of deal. However, every other team out there will get the chance to see if they can fix him, too, and the odds do seem long of a reunion even of that variety.
