Free agency is upon us, even on the minor league side of things. The transaction wire has been updating itself early this afternoon but hasn’t had an update in a bit so we might have reached the point that all of the moves are in. (Update at 4pm ET – this is the full list) More than a few of those who did have spent time in the big leagues and with the Cincinnati Reds, headlined by right-handed pitcher Tejay Antone.
Here’s the full breakdown, by position, of those who are heading into minor league free agency:
The Pitchers
Charlie Barnes, Evan Kravetz, Alex Young, Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Adam Plutko, and Josh Staumont all have big league time under their belts.
At least among Reds fans, Tejay Antone is probably the biggest name from this group. In 2025 he was coming off of his third Tommy John surgery. He was and still is trying to become just the third pitcher to have three Tommy John surgeries and pitch in the big leagues after the third one. Only Jonny Venters and Jason Isringhausen have ever done that. Antone returned to the mound in mid-August and pitched for High-A Dayton, Double-A Chattanooga, and Triple-A Louisville. He pitched well for Dayton, but struggled for both Chattanooga and Louisville in his 10 games between those two stops. With Louisville his velocity was sitting in the 94-95 MPH range and he topped out at 96.
The Position Players
All of the position players on the list have made it to the big leagues. None of them played for Cincinnati in 2025
Edwin Rios led the Reds farm system in home runs this year with 26 of them. He spent 130 games with Louisville and hit .246/.337/.468 for the Bats. Rios spent 2024 with the Reds, too. He opted out in mid-June but quickly re-signed. He was outrighted to Triple-A a month later, became a free agent, and then quickly re-signed. Then following the season he became a free agent and re-signed with Cincinnati in early February for the 2025 season.
Having 20 minor league free agents is about a typical number of players to lose at the end of a season for an organization. The Reds will likely have to replace most of these guys for next year, but it’s the same song and dance as it is every offseason. Players returning from injury could take some of the spots, but there will be plenty of free agent signings between now and the start of the 2026 minor league season. Some of the guys on the lists above might even re-sign with the club.
