TORONTO -- The Reds made the playoffs in 2025 with the final National League Wild Card spot before being swept in two games by the Dodgers. That experience gave Cincinnati's young clubhouse the resolve to not only return to the postseason but go further.
The 2026 Reds didn't get remotely close. At 75-87, Cincinnati finished last in the NL Central. The season ended with a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays.
“There were high expectations," closer Emilio Pagán said. "The reason it hurt so much for a lot of people is because we all thought we were moving in the right direction, and we moved in the wrong direction this year after a playoff berth last year.”
Cincinnati was 20-11 on April 30, tied for the second-best record in baseball, but that record masked some cracks. Most of the wins were in low-scoring games with two runs or fewer. There was a negative run differential. The rotation -- already thinned by injuries to Hunter Greene (right elbow) and Nick Lodolo (blister) before the season started -- wasn't going deep in games, and the bullpen became taxed.
The Reds were 10-17 in May and dropped to last place. Then they went 9-17 in June.
“Along the way, in every phase … Offensively, we’ve been challenged in areas, defensively at times, pitching. In our game, you might go a week and not get exposed, but not over the course of a year," said manager Terry Francona, who oversaw an 83-win season in '25, his first with the club.
Offensively, the Reds finished last in the Majors in average (.229) and on-base percentage (.305), and 25th in slugging (.394). The pitching staff ERA (4.83) ranked 28th. Defense lagged, especially in the outfield.
“Our season did not go anywhere remotely like we wanted it to. I fully understand," Francona said. "We were just talking in the coaches’ room. We need to have a sense of urgency, as we do. At the same time, I told that room in there how much I appreciated that when things don’t go well, we kind of circled the wagons and tried to get better, and we don’t point fingers at each other.
"It’s actually a great group. It doesn’t take away that we didn’t do good enough.”
Along the way came more injuries. In late April, Eugenio Suárez (left oblique) missed a month. Elly De La Cruz (right hamstring) missed a month in June. Pagán (left hamstring) missed two months (May to July). Starter Brandon Williamson (left shoulder) was out for four months. Relievers Graham Ashcraft (right elbow sprain) and Tony Santillan (left oblique strain) missed multiple months.
"It’s something that’s out of our control," Suárez said. "At the same time, we have to understand that you never give up and learn from that and come ready for next year.”
“Obviously, it’s easy to point to untimely injuries," Pagán said. "But the fact of the matter is, we didn’t execute well enough as a team, as an organization, as individuals, to be the type of team that we thought we were going to be. We have to find a way to be more consistent in that execution -- in all facets of the game.”
Among the positives, Sal Stewart hit 32 home runs with 111 RBIs while playing all 162 games and is a leading candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. Chase Burns (15-3, 2.86 ERA) emerged as the rotation ace and joined Stewart as a first-time All-Star. Burns was also signed to a seven-year, $105 million contract extension in July.
The switch-hitting De La Cruz made huge strides as a right-handed hitter and posted his best year while becoming the fourth Reds player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases.
“It wasn’t the season that we all wanted," Stewart said. "Every time we gained some momentum, we just kind of fell back down, which sucks a little bit. I know we could be better. I know what we’re capable of here. Just didn’t go our way this year.”
Now the Reds have to build around that young core. While a lot remains up in the air looking toward 2027, Francona and the baseball operations team of president Nick Krall and general manager Brad Meador are returning.
Is there enough optimism that things can be put back together in '27 as quickly as they came apart in '26?
"I’ll never not be optimistic," Francona said. "I don’t care who it is. But there’s a lot of work to do. We know that.”
"There’s a lot of people in here with super-high character that are going to respond in a positive way and find ways to get better," Pagán said.