Photo: Redleg Nation Staff
The Cincinnati Reds are bringing back right-handed pitcher Carson Spiers. On Friday afternoon the club non-tendered him. That dropped him off of the 40-man roster and automatically made him a free agent. The two sides didn’t waste much time to get back together as they agreed to a minor league deal for the 2026 season that includes an invitation to big league spring training.
In 2025 the season was a tough one for Carson Spiers. He spent most of the season on the injured list with multiple injuries. Spiers made the team out of spring training and started two games in the first week of April for the Reds. He was then optioned to Triple-A where he made one start before returning to Cincinnati’s bullpen for one game on April 19th.
Following that outing in Baltimore he was placed on the injured list with shoulder impingement. He would miss all of May and June before heading out on a rehab assignment in early July. Spiers made one appearance in Arizona before moving up to Triple-A Louisville to continue his rehab. After three outings there he was recalled from that assignment and remained on the injured list. This time, though, it was due to his elbow and the injury was bad enough that it warranted surgery in late July. It was never specified as to whether he had a full Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure. The expectation, though, is that he’s likely to miss much of if not all of the 2026 season.
Even in the best of recoveries, he will only be seven months out from the surgery when spring training begins. The odds of him pitching in the spring are next to none. So if you’re wondering why he got an invite to big league camp, it’s likely just due to his asking for it to be included as during the spring you get additional things/benefits in big league camp that you don’t get in minor league camp.
It would seem that the Reds are hoping two things with this kind of signing. One would be that Spiers can recover quickly and possibly be ready to pitch at some point in the second half of the season/late in the year. Or two, that bringing him back in 2026 so he can rehab with the team at their facilities and all of that, even if he can’t return to the mound in the season, that it could buy them a little bit of good will if they want to bring him back in 2027.
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