Need a stable starting four? Reds love theirs

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI – Stability, depth and experience. Those are just some of the positives that the Reds like about the front four spots of their starting rotation.

If the group can stay healthy throughout Spring Training, Cincinnati would enter the 2026 season boasting one of the stronger rotations in the National League. It has 2025 All-Star Andrew Abbott, 2024 All-Star Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Brady Singer – with the fifth spot expected to be a tight competition among several young arms that include Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder.

How did manager Terry Francona feel about the group with Reds camp set to open Feb. 9?

“Really good," Francona said. "There’s some room for competition, which is not a bad thing. As long as guys stay healthy, you don’t have guys making the team out of desperation. It’s that they deserve it. That’s way better.”

The 2025 rotation, which also featured swingman Nick Martinez and Trade Deadline addition Zack Littell, was sixth in the NL in ERA (3.85), second in WHIP (1.17), third in strikeouts and fourth in innings. Its 69 quality starts were tied for second most. Martinez and Littell remain free agents on the market. The group's success was a big reason that the 83-79 Reds were able to secure the final NL Wild Card spot.

Abbott went 10-7 with a 2.87 ERA with one shutout while setting career highs in starts (29), innings (166 1/3) and strikeouts (149). Lodolo, who was 9-8 with a 3.33 ERA also had a career high in appearances (29), starts (28), innings (156 2/3) and strikeouts (156) and threw two complete games with one shutout. Singer led the staff in starts (32), innings (169 2/3) and strikeouts (163).

Greene was likely on his way to another All-Star nod, and perhaps NL Cy Young Award consideration, when he endured two stints on the injured list with a right groin strain that cost him around three months. In 19 starts, he was 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA and one shutout while throwing 107 2/3 innings with 132 strikeouts.

A testament to this rotation's depth last season? When Greene was out, the team had a better record without its best pitcher (39-33) than it did with him (44-46).

“We have so much depth. Everybody is ready," Abbott said. "They’ve either proved themselves already or are trying to prove themselves. I think everybody is driven. I think everybody has that internal competition we’ve always talked about to one, breed it internally and then show it out on the field [and] kind of one-up each other on the field in such a good way, not a bad way.”

Each of the front four also brings something unique to the table. Greene has the power right-handed arm. The lefty Abbott often has command of his pitches to locate them where he wants. Another lefty, Lodolo, has a big sweeping curveball that can rack up strikeouts quickly – especially against right-handed hitters. Singer offers consistency and the ability to make all his starts. He was the only Reds starter to go from Opening Day to the end of the season without an IL stint.

As Francona noted, health will be the key for Reds starters while avoiding attrition – as is the case during every season. But with Burns, Lowder, Brandon Williamson and Julian Aguiar in the mix for the fifth spot, there are arms that can fill in, too.

For the Reds to be playoff contenders again, their rotation's stability should be an important asset.

"It's nice, for sure," Lodolo said. "I think the one thing I like is every guy is different from a standpoint of how we pitch and everything. It gives us a good look, just matchup to matchup, day to day. We've got a lot of options and a lot of good options. That's definitely exciting. It gives you confidence that no matter who is going out there, we've got a good shot to win the ballgame."