The Cincinnati Reds opted to designate outfielder Rece Hinds for assignment earlier this week. The team had turned to him for some power production after outfielder Noelvi Marte had stumbled out of the gate to begin the 2026 season, yet Hinds couldn’t quite provide the kind of production Cincinnati desperately needed in the corners.
Once JJ Bleday was given the chance – and immediately began running with it – the roster crunch meant Hinds had a tenuous hold on a vital 40-man roster spot. When catcher
Jose Trevino once again needed a stint on the IL, the Reds needed to add a backup catcher to the active roster and had nobody on the 40-man, and Hinds lost his spot when they added PJ Higgins.
The power, speed, and arm strength Hinds has in the corner outfield at age 25 still hold a lot of intrigue. For the Reds, though, they’d simply seen enough, and felt comfortable that they had other, more seasoned options there going forward. Cincinnati designated him on the 17th of May, and it was pretty clear at the time that other teams were absolutely going to have interest in his services.
On Thursday, the Reds announced it was the Miami Marlins who had stepped up to make a deal. Hinds was dealt to south Florida in exchange for RHP Zach McCambley, a 27 year old former 3rd round pick out of Coastal Carolina.
McCambley was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft over the winter, but was returned to the Marlins when he failed to make the active roster out of spring camp. So far with AAA Jacksonville this year, he’s fired 26.2 IP of 2.36 ERA ball, fanning 32 against 17 walks in that time. He sits almost 95 mph with his fastball, but he leans on a hard cutter over 31% of the time while also throwing his slider upwards of 37% of the time, each getting more work than the standard four-seamer.
He ranked 25th in FanGraphs ranking of the Top 34 prospects in the Marlins system back in January, with FG noting ‘on the strength of his plus breaking stuff, he projects as a low-to-mid-leverage reliever’ and that he has ‘feel for spin, particularly pronounced on his slider.’ They doted a 60 grade on his slider and 55 on his cutter, which is promising.
McCambley lands on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster and will presumably join AAA Louisville for the time being. The Marlins announced they had optioned Hinds to AAA Jacksonville.
