CINCINNATI — As the Reds’ baseball operations department looks to upgrade an offense that slogged and underperformed throughout 2026, they already have two hitters with the highest of ceilings in Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart.
Now president Nick Krall and general manager Brad Meador know they must raise the floor of their 2027 roster construction for manager Terry Francona.
“We didn’t do a great job with the bottom of the roster," Krall said. "We need to do a better job of filling in the bottom of the roster, whether it’s complementary players or some of the starters, doing a better job to get Tito more guys that he can platoon, that are usable platoon guys.”
De La Cruz delivered his first 30/30 season with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, while Stewart could be the National League's Rookie of the Year after hitting 32 homers with 112 RBIs.
After that, Cincinnati's production was often barren.
The Reds ranked at the bottom of Major League Baseball in batting average (.229) and on-base percentage (.305) and 27th in runs scored (666). And that was after signing free-agent slugger Eugenio Suárez plus a value add in free agent JJ Bleday.
A power-first hitter, Suárez endured a slow start and an oblique injury before finding a better groove in the second half. His 26 homers were down from the 49 he hit in 2025, and he batted .212 with a .740 OPS. Suárez, who has a $16 million mutual option for 2027, appears unlikely to return.
But it goes much further than that.
Several hitters struggled. Second baseman Matt McLain endured a second straight down offensive season while batting .185 with a .608 OPS. Center fielder TJ Friedl, a critical part of the '25 club, never got going and was completely off the roster by season's end.
Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes had an all-time poor offensive season with a .141 average and 17 OPS+. Hayes hit five homers in 94 games yet had only nine RBIs.
The Reds tied for the fourth-highest whiff rate (27.1%) , had the most strikeouts in the NL while tied for the highest strikeout rate in MLB (25.5%). They also ranked 26th in in-zone contact rate (82.2%).
If there's good news to be had, it's this: When they made contact, it was generally good. The Reds' 9.4% barrel rate trailed only the Yankees in MLB.
“Last year, we came and we added more power. At the end of the day, we were second in home runs [in the NL with 213] and last [in the NL] in runs scored," Krall said. "We need to get on base more, no question. First and foremost, we need to make better contact and get on base more. That’s the most important thing we can do.”
After the final game of the season, Francona noted what he would like to see from his 2027 team: more toughness.
"Whether that means in the batter's box with two strikes, we've got to set the bar a little higher and get tougher," Francona said.
The Reds brought back hitting coach Chris Valaika but dismissed assistant hitting coach Will Remillard after the season. Krall said he believed in Valaika's hitting philosophy that stressed contact and reaching base and pointed to the seasons of De La Cruz, Stewart and catcher Tyler Stephenson as examples of what worked.
“We brought in players that didn’t necessarily fit that philosophy," Krall said. "We need to make sure we give those guys better players for them to develop.”
That won't be easy, because there are multiple gaps. Stephenson will be a free agent, and the club will also need to upgrade its outfield. While the left-handed Bleday hit a career-high 24 homers, he was much better vs. right-handers than lefties. Righty-hitting center fielder Dane Myers was stronger vs. lefties than righties. McLain's OPS vs. lefties (.777) was more than 200 points better than against righties (.552).
“I think we need to get back to messaging of the team offense," Meador said. "I think we emphasize — and probably overemphasize — impact, both as a front office and to our players last year leaving going into the offseason. It needs to be more balanced. We need to be better at controlling the zone, getting on base, taking care of runners when they’re on base, making sure that we’re getting them in.
“That starts with having tougher at-bats, but also in our work and preparation every day, what that looks like. That’s all stuff we’ve had a lot of discussions around. It does need to be a focus.”