The Cincinnati Reds have made three signings this offseason of big leaguers. Well, technically it’s just two at this point as one isn’t quite official yet. But all three of those signings have been of relief pitchers. And don’t be confused about it – the Reds needed to bolster their bullpen after free agency left them with plenty of spots to fill.
This week they agreed to a deal with lefty Caleb Ferguson, but the deal is not yet official as he has to come in and pass a physical (the deal is now official). Two weeks ago the team brought back closer Emilio Pagan, giving them a late-inning option along with Tony Santillan. And in early November Cincinnati signed right-handed reliever Keegan Thompson to a big league deal despite the fact that he spent all of 2025 in Triple-A.
After losing out on Kyle Schwarber the Reds have been involved in rumors here and there about being interested in this hitter or that hitter, but many of those seem to have been shot down. And while the team did make a big offer to Schwarber the club has stated publicly that they were going to have to get creative to make that deal work financially if he did sign and that their payroll in 2026 is going to be about the same as it was in 2025.
That doesn’t leave much money to spend in free agency to add to an offense that needs plenty of help. The trade market may be where Cincinnati needs to focus if they are going to bring in a proven hitter.
But the waiver wire can also lead to quality pick ups at times. Brandon Phillips was just named to the latest class of the Reds Hall of Fame and he was acquired from Cleveland in a trade when they were left with the option of trying to trade him or placing him on waivers in late spring training of 2006. He had been a top prospect in baseball but struggled to put things together at the plate in the big leagues before arriving in Cincinnati.
Most of the time there’s a reason guys wind up on waivers. They haven’t performed well enough to warrant a roster spot. An interesting name that’s been placed on waivers this week is Jhonkensy Noel. The 24-year-old slugger has raw power that not many players in baseball can match. But he’s simply struggled to hit in his 351 plate appearances with Cleveland over the last two seasons, hitting just .193/.242/.401 with 115 strikeouts and just 17 walks.
He’s hit better in the minors. Over the last two seasons while in Triple-A he has hit .285/.349/.538 with 29 doubles, two triples, 30 home runs, 40 walks, and 127 strikeouts in 126 games played. Defensively he has spent more time at first base than in the outfield over the last few years in the Cleveland organization, but he’s seen plenty of time in the corner outfield spots. You can see his career stats here.
The current 40-man roster has 39 players on it, but it will be full once the Caleb Ferguson deal is official. If the Reds wanted to take a chance on a player like Jhonkensy Noel they would need to clear a spot for him. Of course they sort of already have a player or two like him in Rece Hinds and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Hinds hit a lot better in Triple-A this past year and is far more athletic. Encarnacion-Strand has hit better in the past, but he struggled in 2025 to hit for average in Triple-A (.245) after hitting 331 there in 2023.
Two lottery tickets are better than one. And three are better than two. But in order to have three then Cincinnati will need to move someone else off of the roster for a player out of options.
