The offseason is plowing along at a glacial pace so far since the Milwaukee Brewers dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series earlier in the month. There’s been almost zero movement on the free agent front, and the trades that have been made were spurred on only due to the activity at the fringes of each team’s 40-man roster as players needed roster spots coming off of the 60-day IL.
It is the dog days of winter, sadly, with nothing but the looming December 1st lockout on the horizon.
Here’s
what little there is news-wise on the Cincinnati Reds front:
Manager Terry Francona spoke to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com about several topics, one of which being the hiring of new pitching coach Joe Torres. As has become a pattern, Torres was plucked from the Cleveland Guardians organization – where Tito managed for a decade – and the two come with a history, albeit brief. Torres worked under Francona’s longtime pitching coach Carl Willis, however, and there’s a lot of respect for that coaching tree.
Tito also spoke a bit about losing closer Emilio Pagán to free agency, and it’s clear those two have a relationship that was not at all impacted by Pagán’s decision to decline his option and enter free agency again. The Reds will need a closer if they’re intent on building a roster that’s actually good enough to demand the 9th inning be important, and it’s clear Tito would love to have Pagán back again in 2027 (and beyond). The crew at MLB Trade Rumors recently broke down Pagán and his fly-ball tendencies, noting that several members of their free agent prediction crew suggested that Pagán will reunite with the Reds in free agency again this winter.
Down in Arizona, Reds prospect Yerlin Confidan continued his Fall League breakout over the weekend by earning the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars MVP Award on Sunday. Confidan, a powerful lefty-swinging outfielder, swatted a double and later coaxed a bases-loaded walk for his National League side in their 7-4 victory over the American League cadre.
Confidan also competed in the AFL Fall Stars Home Run Derby on Saturday but did not take home the victory there.
Finally, it’s been a positive winter so far for Noelvi Marte as he takes on Dominican Winter League pitching. As Doug Gray noted at Redleg Nation, Marte has been crushing the ball of late.
