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It’s somewhat hard to believe, but the Cincinnati Reds drafted catcher Tyler Stephenson in the 1st round of the 2015 MLB Draft, meaning he’s already been in the organization for over a decade at this point.
On the very June day when he was picked, Mike Leake scattered 10 hits across 6 innings of 2 ER ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in what became a 6-4 Reds victory. The top of the lineup that day will give you nostalgia – Brandon Phillips at 2B, Joey Votto at 1B, Todd Frazier at 3B, Jay Bruce in right, and Zack Cozart at short. Manny Parra, JJ Hoover, and Aroldis Chapman later came on to finish that one out.
If that makes it feel like it was an eon ago, well, it was. Stephenson has been in this organization for a heckuva long time, and we’ve now reached the point where next season will see him turn 30 years old while in the final year of team control before he reaches free agency. That is, of course, if the Reds don’t sign him to a contract extension before that point, something that sure hasn’t had any public rumor leaked if it’s in the works.
That somewhat begs the question, then. Should the Reds explore an extension with the guy who’s been their main catcher for the last five seasons after debuting late in 2020?
When Tyler was drafted out of high school back in 2015, the hope was that his big frame and projectionable power would turn into a middle of the order bat. At times you’ve still seen glimpses of that, but he’s never hit more than 19 dingers in a season nor slugged more than .482 – and that latter mark was in an injury-shortened 50 game season in 2022. To date he’s hit .261/.338/.426 in nearly 2000 career PA, good for a 104 OPS+ (though he’s only been a total 98 OPS+ hitter over the last three seasons of work combined). That’s a decent enough hitter (especially for the slap-hitting Reds roster), but hardly the kind of thumper they hoped he’d be.
Arbitration estimates suggest he’ll earn somewhere around $6.4 million in 2026 in his final year through that process, and any extension will obviously build off that significantly. He also ranked as one of the worst framers among all catchers in the game last season while also ranking towards the bottom of the pack in pop times to 2B, and the Reds already traded for – and gave a contract extension to – Jose Trevino as a catching option.
On top of that, catching prospect Alfredo Duno posted a Top 3 wRC+ among all hitters in affiliated minor league ball stateside during the 2025 season and could very feasibly be in the discussion for major league time by the end of 2026.
So, what do you think? Is Tyler the kind of stalwart the Reds should throw money at to stick around for a few more years? Or is it probably time to start thinking about what they’ll do when he’s in another team’s uniform?
