Reds have catcher of the future, but what about the present?

CINCINNATI -- It has been several years since the Reds faced a winter with a vacancy at their primary catcher position without a homegrown player ready to fill it.

Tyler Stephenson held it down over the past five seasons, and before that, the spot belonged to Tucker Barnhart. Preceding Barnhart was Devin Mesoraco. Before Mesoraco, it was Ryan Hanigan, who assumed regular catching duties in 2012 following multiple seasons of backing up. All were developed from within the organization.

Stephenson is headed to the free-agent market. The next man up from the Reds' farm system will eventually be Alfredo Duno, the organization's No. 1 prospect and No. 20 in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

But not yet.

Duno, who turns 21 on Jan. 7, isn't expected to be ready for the big leagues by Opening Day 2027.

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In 2026, Duno batted .281 with an .899 OPS, 19 home runs and 61 RBIs over 97 games with High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga. Only 32 of those games were at Chattanooga because of a month missed with a right hamstring strain.

Signed out of Venezuela for $3.1 million in 2023, Duno has above-average hitting, power and throwing tools, and the Reds' front office has been pleased with his development to this point. Still, more time is needed.

“First, I think Duno needs to be a Minor League player," president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "He’s a great kid. He’s made great strides. But he has a lot of work to do, and as a 20-year-old in Double-A, he needs to continue to develop. We need to make sure we’re not confusing him and rushing him to the big leagues to the detriment of his development.

"We need to make sure he’s developing in the Minor Leagues and let him continue to develop, so that way when he gets here, he can be a good Major League player.”

Cincinnati currently has veteran Jose Trevino and Will Banfield on its 40-man roster as catchers. Trevino, who turns 34 in November, is a team leader but batted .217 with a .557 OPS and five homers in only 52 games while banged up by injuries. Banfield, who will turn 27 in November, has 18 games of big league experience spread over two seasons. He came to the organization after six years in the Marlins' system and spent most of 2025-26 in Triple-A.

Following a 75-win season and a last-place finish in the division, the Reds have several positions where upgrades are needed. Finding a catcher who can both improve the lineup offensively and handle the pitching staff could be the tallest order of them all.

For whoever Cincinnati brings in, it could be under a shorter-term contract that enables a transition to Duno when he is ready. That could be later in 2027 or in '28.

The pending free-agent market has few available primary catchers. One of them is Carson Kelly, the Cubs' primary backstop for the past two seasons. Kelly, 32, batted .258 with a .712 OPS and 10 homers over 121 games in 2026. Austin Hedges, 34, is currently with the Guardians and had three years of experience in Cleveland from 2020-22 with Reds manager Terry Francona.

Other names include Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver and Elias Díaz, but none of those options would boost the club offensively.

Krall and the Reds might have to scour for potential trades instead. That is, unless the free-agent road brings them back to Stephenson, who spent 12 years in the organization after he was its first-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.

After a slow start, Stephenson heated up in June and batted .241 with a .727 OPS and 15 homers over 130 games. He was ranked at the 97th percentile in blocking but was at the bottom end of the league in framing, pop time and catching runners stealing.

A reunion with Stephenson hasn't been ruled out.

“Tyler’s a great guy," Krall said. "I talked to him the last weekend [of the season] in Toronto. He’s been here 12 years, from when he got drafted in high school to where he is now. He’s got the respect of everybody in that clubhouse. I think we need to take a step back and figure out what it’s going to take. How does it help us move forward, and do we need to use that money to improve something else and go over here? I think we have a lot of questions that need to be answered over the next month as we approach free agency. But he’s a great guy, and we’d love to have him back.”