This year, Terry Francona knows the real potential of his club.
The Cincinnati manager enters his 25th season as a big league manager and his second with the Reds. He got a taste of what the young potential is capable of when he led them to 83 wins in 2025 and their first postseason berth since 2020. But this season isn’t just about returning to the playoffs, it’s about maximizing the full potential of a roster loaded with young, dynamic talent, both in the position and pitching groups.
He made that much clear Monday when he met with reporters in Goodyear, site of the Cincinnati’s Spring Training complex. He doesn’t have to go over the formalities of what to expect from every player as they get ready for the season.
“It doesn’t mean you take your foot off the gas, far from it. But it’s easier to get your work done,” Francona said. “We should be able to get our work done more economically. I think we can do some things that we didn’t do last year to try to get better because we know each other now. I know there’s a lot of baserunning stuff I want us to do early in spring, because I care about that so much. I just think you’re getting reacquainted. You’re not introducing. I walked through the weight room, and you’re hugging people and seeing guys back. That’s a good feeling.”
Francona enters 2026 with 2,033 managerial wins, good for 12th on the all-time list. If he gets 93 wins this season, not only will the Reds almost assuredly be back in the postseason, he’ll move into the Top-10 all-time, passing Walter Alston (2,040) and Joe McCarthy (2,125).
This is season is not really about the numbers – it’s about the end goal. This is a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2012, has lost 15 of its last 17 playoff games, has never won a playoff game in Great American Ball Park in four tries, hasn’t won a playoff series since 1995 and hasn’t won a World Series since 1990.
This team is talented enough to change all that. And they have the manager to accomplish it. The Reds head into the 2026 season with a legitimate chance at getting to and winning the World Series.
The 2026 Reds are built to go further than a two-game sweep in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. They have starting pitching, relief pitching, speed and added pop. Their up-the-middle defense should improved with Matt McLain starting the year healthy and TJ Friedl back. Noelvi Marte begins the season in right field and Gold Glover Ke’Bryan Hayes is back at third.
The last two weeks of last season was a microcosm of their year in general. They were presumed dead after losing three straight in Sacramento to the Athletics. They fell to 75-76 after a loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis. Then they reeled off five straight wins and the Mets obliged by going into a typical September swoon. They had the Pirates come to town and were in line to punch their ticket before dropping two straight to Pittsburgh at home. They won the final home game against Pittsburgh on Noelvi Marte’s miracle catch in the first row of the right field seats. Two straight wins over Milwaukee in Milwaukee and a Mets loss on the final Sunday put them in the playoffs.
“I want them to remember when they popped champagne, how it felt. But I also want them to remember what it felt like four days later where you’re being sent home before you’re ready to,” Francona added. “You want them to learn from both of the experiences. That’s kind of our obligation, whatever happens, to learn from it and get better. Good or bad.”
Yes, a lot has to break their way, and they need their best young players to be their most productive players and they need health. Now is the time for optimism for every Major League team, save for perhaps five or six at the bottom of the salary heap of baseball.
The Reds are not in that group. They have budget limitations and they were never going to spend like the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Phillies, Red Sox or Cubs. But after missing out on Kyle Schwarber and spending two months looking for that bat in the middle of the order, the Reds managed to bring Eugenio Suarez back on a one-year, $15 million deal. They ended 2025 with a $119 million payroll. They begin spring training with a $126 million payout total.
Both of their arbitration eligible players – Graham Ashcraft and Tyler Stephenson – went to a hearing and won their cases, with Ashcraft making $1.75 million this season and Stephenson making $6.8 million.
Here are eight keys to the Reds getting back to the World Series for the first time since 1990:
The Reds need the group of Greene, Lodolo, Abbott and Singer to average 30 starts each. That’s 120 of the 162. The Reds have built this team around its starters. The fifth starter could be any combination of Lowder, Burns, Aguiar, Williamson, Petty, etc. Teams that succeed usually have a reliable rotation. If they top four are making that many starts, that’s a sign of good health.
With Ke’Bryan Hayes set at third and Noelvi Marte in right, those are two spots anchored down that weren’t to start last season. With the DH, there’s going to be some flexibility at first, left field and perhaps, some even at second base on the days De La Cruz needs a day off his legs and McLain moves over to second. Francona is great at managing a roster but having to shuffle the deck every day becomes tiresome. Plus, his familiarity with the talent and skillsets should make him more comfortable with strategic changes later in games.
There’s no doubt that along with adding a bat for a deeper lineup, one of Nick Krall’s priorities this offseason was lengthening the bullpen options for Francona at the end of games. First step was bringing back a reliable closer at the right price and when Emilio Pagan said yes to two years, $20 million that mission was accomplished quickly. Then came the building the bridge to Pagan. Only Tyler Rogers (81) appeared in more games than the 80 of Tony Santillan last year. Brent Suter and Scott Barlow are gone. But Graham Ashcraft returns. Enter Pierce Johnson and lefties Brock Burke and Caleb Ferguson. Throw in Connor Phillips and perhaps Chase Burns (if he doesn’t make the rotation) and you have a bullpen that should be deep all season long. Also know that arms like Julian Aguiar, Chase Petty, Brandon Williamson are ready and waiting. Sam Moll and Luis Mey also enter spring training fighting for a roster spot.
The rookie came up and mashed last season in the heat of a pennant race, a great sign for a player the Reds are relying on to anchor to the middle third of their order. After starting the year in Double-A Chattanooga, he was promoted to Triple-A Louisville and eventually made his MLB debut on Sept. 1. Across 118 minor league games, Stewart slashed .309/.383/.524 with 20 home runs and 17 stolen bases. In his brief 18-game stint with the Major League club, he flashed significant power, hitting five home runs and recording an .838 OPS while helping the Reds reach the postseason.
Last spring, Noelvi Marte had to earn Terry Francona’s trust and the trust of the organization by beginning in minor league camp and working his way back up after a down 2024, that featured an 80-game PED suspension. He was treading water until the move was made to switch him from third base to right field. He has the best arm in the outfield, he blossomed as the most feared hitter in the lineup. If both his bat and glove continue to produce, he could become one of the core pieces of the Reds’ lineup for their current championship window.
This should probably be higher. The Reds were a different offensive team when McLain came up in May 2023. He hit for power and average and his defense was terrific and reliable. He is a game-changer in the lineup, and could re-establish himself as a top-of-the-lineup threat if he returns to form.
If his left quad is fully healed, De La Cruz should not only return to his offensive form of 2023-24, his defense should improve as well. When an infielder doesn’t have his legs under him, he looks for shortcuts, and too often it seemed like De La Cruz was falling back on those shortcuts last year, leading to a MLB-high 26 errors. Instead of playing all 162, it’s more critical for the Reds for De La Cruz to play 145-150 at full speed, that way he can be a disruptive force every time he steps on the field.
The $15 million spent on Eugenio Suarez could prove to be a bargain if Suarez brings his smile and power back to Cincinnati at 2019 – or even 2025 – levels. Suarez, at his best, is precisely what the Reds need behind De La Cruz and Marte. That 3-4-5 could be as formidable as any in baseball if they all have good seasons. Put Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson behind them and you suddenly see the length this lineup has been lacking for years.
Think of this potential lineup:
CF Friedl
1B Stewart
SS De La Cruz
RF Marte
DH Suarez
LF Steer
C Stephenson
2B McLain
3B Hayes
Without further ado, here is the first 26-man roster projection for March 26 when the Reds open the season against the Red Sox at Great American Ball Park:
Starting Pitchers (5):
RHP Hunter Greene
LHP Nick Lodolo
LHP Andrew Abbott
LHP Brady Singer
RHP Rhett Lowder
Relievers (8):
RHP Pierce Johnson
LHP Caleb Ferguson
LHP Brock Burke
RHP Chase Burns
RHP Tony Santillan
RHP Graham Ashcraft
RHP Emilio Pagan
RHP Connor Phillips
Catchers (2):
Tyler Stephenson
Jose Trevino
Infielders (6):
1B/OF Spencer Steer, 2B Matt McLain, SS Elly De La Cruz, 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, 1B/2B/DH Sal Stewart, DH/3B Eugenio Suarez
Outfielders (5):
CF TJ Friedl, RF Noelvi Marte, OF JJ Bleday, OF Will Benson, OF Dane Myers
Spring games begin on Feb. 21 in Goodyear against Cleveland. That’s when the battles begin. Some of the best competitions to watch:
Lowder, the Reds’ 2023 first-round pick enters Spring Training fully healthy after missing the entire 2025 season with forearm and oblique injuries. He is still the more polished option when it comes to command and a 1.17 ERA in his limited 2024 debut. As for Burns, the 2024 second-overall pick is the electric alternative, showed off his triple-digit fastball and a dominant slider. Unlike Lowder, Burns pitched in the majors in 2025, recording a 4.57 ERA and an impressive 13.9 K/9 over 43.1 innings. If Lowder wins the fifth starter job, Burns could begin the season in a high-leverage bullpen role to utilize his power stuff while managing his workload.
Steer played the position at a very high defensive level last season, coming in tied for fourth among all MLB first basemen with eight runs saved by Fielding Bible metrics. Only Matt Olson, Carlos Santana and Ty France were better in 2025. But if Stewart beats out Steer because of his bat, then Steer moves back to left field and JJ Bleday, Dane Myers and Will Benson will be on the bench later in games for Francona.
Will be very interesting to see how Francona divvies up playing time in spring training and determines which players deserve the most playing time.
