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We are aren’t yet to the 2026 season’s halfway point yet, with the Reds having played 77 games so far. We are still at the point where it’s recent memory to point out that TJ Friedl was the team’s starting CF for over half of those games (39), and the team’s leadoff hitter for nearly
half of them (35).
It both feels like ages since Friedl was optioned to AAA Louisville after his awful start to the year and that he was an everyday regular for years just minutes ago. However, the timing of his play falling off a cliff coinciding with several other factors begs the question of not just if we’ll see him back with the Reds at some point this season, but if we’ll ever see him in a Cincinnati Reds uniform again.
Friedl, who’ll turn 31 in August, is making some $3.8 million this season after his first trip through the arbitration process over the winter. The nature of the arbitration system dictates that he’ll get at least that, and likely a raise, when he goes through it next winter – if the Reds choose to tender him a contract for the year he’ll turn 32.
As his offensive production cratered this year, it’s worth pointing out that some of the things that also showed significant diminishment, too. His sprint speed dipped to just the 32nd percentile, per Baseball Savant, down to just 26.7 feet per second – decidedly not bueno for a guy with little power who plays a premium defensive position and typically bats atop the order. Just three seasons ago (before his hamstring problems), he was at 28.3 feet per second, and his range metrics were much, much better accordingly. Father time, as we know, may not be linear, but is undefeated.
Beyond that, Blake Dunn has simply been better in CF than Friedl, and has the speed and baserunning chops to lap him. Dane Myers has beenprecisely the addition the Reds hoped from the right-side of the plate in that mix, while the corner spots in the outfield seem seized by JJ Bleday and a resurgent Noelvi Marte. And if the Reds want to add another left-handed outfielder to the mix, they’ve got Hector Rodriguez on the 40-man roster and on a heater himself at AAA right now, too.
Friedl’s path back to the active roster in 2026 seems overgrown with obstacles galore. His age and contract situation make seeing him tendered a contract this winter cloudy, at best. That means the Reds might well try to trade him for whatever they can get before the August 3rd deadline, though for all the reasons I’ve already laid out above they might not get any takers.
TJ owns an .840 OPS in the 15 games he’s played at AAA, so he’s not been nearly as bad down there as he was with the Reds. He has popped 3 homers, and is slugging .492. There’s obviously a chance that there are tweaks he’s made to make him more akin to the guy who posted a 2.4 bWAR season at the big league level just last year while owning a .364 OBP. The issue is, though, that he’s running out of time to make that impression sink in deep enough with the Reds brass before they have to make the call.
So, what say you for this week’s MLB Reacts question? Has TJ played his last game for the Reds, or not?
