2 more HRs, 6 RBIs? It's safe to say McLain is locked in this spring

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- As manager Terry Francona held shop prior to Monday’s 17-9 drubbing of the Cubs at Goodyear Ballpark, he talked about the challenges associated with finding the optimal way to ramp up his guys prior to the start of the regular season.

There’s still more than three weeks until the Reds welcome in the Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on March 26, but one thing is for sure over the past few days: Matt McLain is locked in.

Back in the two-hole of a lineup that certainly looked like one that could be rolled out in late March and beyond, McLain swatted a pair of roundtrippers to set the tone for a six-homer day for the Reds.

These weren’t cheapies, either.

Bottom 2, three-run homer off RHP Jameson Taillon: 109.2 mph exit velocity, Statcast-projected 412 feet (homer in all 30 Major League parks)

Bottom 3, three-run homer off LHP Ryan Rolison: 107.6 mph exit velocity, 421 feet to right-center field

It’s no secret that the second baseman is seeking a bounce-back campaign. Francona and others have been effusive that they believe the player who produced an .864 OPS and 127 OPS+ as a rookie in 2023 is still in there.

In his first five Cactus League games, McLain is 8-for-14. His 1.933 OPS leads qualified players during the spring and his three homers and nine RBIs are tied for the Major League lead. It’s fool’s gold to look too deeply into Spring Training stats, particularly a five-game sample size, but it’s also better to be putting up numbers than not. Francona cited McLain’s second homer in particular as a sign that his swing is in good shape.

“He looks incredible,” starting pitcher Brady Singer said of McLain. “Obviously going to be a huge part of this team, so for him to do what he's doing right now, it's really exciting for us.”

McLain’s big day makes him the fourth Red since 2006 with a six-RBI Cactus League performance, joining Edwin Encarnación (March 6, 2008), Yasiel Puig (March 17, 2019) and Austin Hays (Feb. 24, 2025).

Singer makes it slide, sweep and sink
The final line isn’t pretty, but it also doesn’t tell the whole story. Making his 2026 Cactus League debut, Singer yielded five runs on seven hits across two-plus innings of work. In his first frame, two of the hits had an expected batting average of .140 or lower and another was a lined shot that left fielder Will Benson had difficulty finding -- one of many instances throughout the game of an outfielder struggling with the high Arizona sky.

In total, Singer deployed all five of his offerings across the 46-pitch outing. He threw his sinker -- which averaged just 14 inches of horizontal break, a drop from 15.9 last season -- 20 times, and while he got four called strikes with it, batters didn’t whiff once during their seven swings.

“I felt like the slider and the sweeper had good shape to it,” Singer said. “They had good bite, I just couldn't get the swing-and-miss. I couldn't get them to the spot that I wanted to either.”

6 reassigned to Minors camp
The Reds made their first round of cuts Monday morning, shifting six players over to Minor League camp. Chief among them was right-hander Carson Spiers, who is expected to miss the entire 2026 season as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. The move was perfunctory, as Spiers remains on track in his progression, which recently hit the benchmark of throwing from 75 feet.

Cam Collier was the most noteworthy prospect to get the news. Already a two-time member of big league camp at 21 years old, the 2022 first round Draft pick sustained a torn UCL in his left thumb last spring, which wound up zapping his power for much of the season. But the future remains bright for the corner infielder who entered Spring Training ranked by MLB Pipeline as Cincinnati's No. 6 prospect and went on to earn All-Star honors during the Arizona Fall League in ‘25.

“Last year when he got hurt, we talked to him about turning what could be perceived as a negative into a positive, and he did a really good job with his body while he was down,” Francona said. “I just reminded him this morning to enjoy being young and embracing what's in front of you and not be so worried or fixated on, ‘I gotta to get to the next level.’ Go just embrace seeing how good you can get.”