Six Reds players who are being under-discussed entering 2025

The last time that the Reds had Jake Fraley playing at 100% for a long stretch of time, he was as much of a part of the core of the lineup as anyone.

In July of 2023, on the same day that Elly De La Cruz moved to the leadoff spot during his rookie season, Fraley became the Reds’ cleanup hitter. The role made perfect sense at the time. He had the 10th best OPS in MLB vs. right-handed pitchers, ahead of Mookie Betts and Mike Trout. He was the Reds’ second-best power hitter against right-handers, on pace for 27 home runs and 115 RBIs.

Nothing that Fraley has gone through since then has been normal.

In August of 2023, he suffered a stress fracture in his foot, delayed surgery and tried to play through it when he could barely run. He had surgery in the offseason and spent his entire winter rehabbing instead of going through his normal workout regime.

During the offseason entering 2024, his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, which weighed heavily on Fraley for all of last season. He was diagnosed with bronchitis last May and lost 8% of his body weight, which tanked his ability as a power hitter. He nearly developed pneumonia, which would have sent him to the hospital for weeks.

Entering 2025, the Reds’ front office has been unsuccessful at upgrading the outfield through a trade or free agency. While the Reds should have made a move, Fraley has become a forgotten, underrated piece.

In 2023, Fraley mashed against right-handed pitching. On the field in 2024, Fraley had a very strange season at the plate.

He still posted a .277 batting average, and he was getting hits. Fraley’s defense and overall athleticism were also improved. But the power wasn’t there, and he only homered five times. According to Baseball Savant, Fraley was in the bottom percentile in lowest average exit velocity on contact in MLB. When Fraley spoke about his season at the plate, he stressed how much his family situation was impacting him.

He was a much different player in 2023, and he hasn’t had a chance to build on that until now. With some normalcy entering spring training this time around, Fraley has the potential to swing what the Reds get from the middle of their lineup in 2025.

Coming off of the 2023 season, Fraley couldn’t have been more confident.

“I learned that my process works,” Fraley said back then. “When you create a process the right way, it becomes bulletproof. I can’t wait to see what I added in the offseason pay off at the end of the year. I’m dialing into every aspect of my game and taking it to another level.”

Now, he’ll get the chance to really do that.

In addition to Fraley, here are five more Reds who are not being discussed enough entering spring training.

TJ Friedl

Twelve months ago, I wrote that Friedl was the most indispensable Red. While a lot of my takes aren’t right, the Reds’ 2024 season showed that to be the case.

The Reds played their best baseball in June when Friedl was healthy and playing his best baseball. He was the main catalyst of their seven-game winning streak in June, but he was never able to really get rolling due to all of his injuries.

When Friedl wasn’t available, the Reds often relied on a struggling Jonathan India in the leadoff spot and played Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild in center field (who are the Reds backup center field options again in 2025 along with Blake Dunn).

His 2024 season was defined by injuries: He broke his wrist in spring training he broke his thumb a few days after he got back the IL, and then soft tissue injuries that hampered him over the course of the summer.

It’s easy to forget that Friedl led the Reds in WAR in 2023. During that season, one coach told me, “We should sell out this place every night with people who want to see TJ Friedl play.”

Friedl didn’t get to be himself in 2024 due to the injuries. He stopped bunting because he wasn’t running as well. He started selling out for more pull-side power and became a cleanup hitter. But down the stretch, metrics showed that his speed metrics were getting back to normal levels. A perfect bunt against Cleveland was a very encouraging sign in late September.

Friedl is still the Reds’ only hope for a two-way center fielder who makes an impact on offense and defense. If he successfully steps up back into the leadoff spot, then he’ll create havoc when Elly De La Cruz is at the plate and let Matt McLain and Spencer Steer tap into more of their power.

If Friedl has another tough season, the Reds will be significantly worse at the plate, in the field and on the bases.

Emilio Pagán

During the Reds’ caravan over the last week, Emilio Pagán has opened up about how challenging his 2024 season was.

He revealed to Tony Pike and Austin Elmore on Cincy 360 that he couldn’t even play catch last offseason after having sports hernia surgery. Twelve months ago, all that we knew was that Pagán wasn’t available to pitch in the first week of spring training games, but he was back in the mix very quickly.

It turned out that the sports hernia surgery was the story of his season.

“It was more difficult than I even imagined,” Pagán said. He didn’t have a strong base of offseason throwing and conditioning, and he connected his ability to train during the offseason to the lat injury he suffered in May. It was the worst injury of his career and kept him from hitting his stride as he finished the year with a 4.50 ERA.

“It was embarrassing, frustrating and emotionally draining,” he told Tony and Austin.

Relief pitcher contracts in free agency are the riskiest investments in sports, and Pagán is on the second year of a two-year, $16 million contract (he picked up his player option). Nick Krall has typically built his bullpens with minor league free agents, waiver claims and homegrown converted starting pitchers. Pagán is the exception, and that comes with his expectations.

Right now, he looks like the Reds’ eighth inning guy ahead of Alexis Díaz. Pagán has been an impact reliever, including in 2023 when he posted a 2.99 ERA in 69 ⅓ innings. He said last year that he believes he has the best fastball in baseball when he’s rolling, and that pitch could be the difference between a strong back end of the bullpen and a shaky one.

Santiago Espinal

On the Reds’ entire roster, they have one player that they can be 100% confident in defensively at third base.

Jeimer Candelario couldn’t play the position well last year due to injuries. Gavin Lux hasn’t played there before. Noelvi Marte struggled throwing the ball last year.

That player is Espinal, who should have a bigger role in 2025 if the Reds are serious about improving their defense. He has elite hands, is a smooth player and makes contact at the plate.

He’ll never be an above average hitter because of his lack of power, but he got hot last summer and became a useful everyday player.

"What (Espinal) has done in this league is hard to do," Pagán said last September. "To bring a guy like that in the clubhouse, the results on the field are awesome and he's also probably one of the better leaders in how he goes about his business. You look up and he has a (.714) OPS and is hitting .270. You could argue that he's one of the more important players on our roster, if not the most right now because of what he can do defensively."

Espinal will be competing for playing time. But his versatility, defensive impact, platoon impact against left-handed pitching and improvements at the plate against right-handed pitching last summer make Espinal a more important chess piece than most are realizing. He’s the type of player that Terry Francona has always given a lot of playing time to.

Rece Hinds

The Reds’ search for power hitting outfielders includes Hinds, who went on an unforgettable hot streak last summer.

His ability to stick in the big leagues will come down to just about everything else.

He notably didn’t get playing time on the big league roster last September on a Reds team with a weak outfield. Strikeouts have always been an issue.

But the biggest thing is tapping into his athleticism more consistently.

Hinds is a very underrated athlete. He can make a real impact in the field and on the bases, and he can use that athleticism to find more production at the plate. The challenge to Hinds has been honing in on the athletic tools that can establish him as a big league regular.

It looks like Hinds is competing for a bench spot along with guys like CES, Will Benson and Blake Dunn (probably two spots for those four players, among others).

Hinds has obvious upside, but the little things will shape how much time he spends in the big leagues.

Sal Stewart

This summer, Stewart will be the prospect that fans are clipping together highlight reels of and the prospect that opposing teams are clamoring for at the deadline.

He’s a ball player in the mold of Spencer Steer, and he has improved his athleticism to develop real versatility between second and third base. A fluky hand injury cost him the second half of last season, and the injury took place just as he was becoming a household name among Reds fans.

That will happen this year. He knows how to hit, prioritizes contact over power, makes smart plays and has great plate discipline.

He’ll be in big league camp and will probably start the season in Double-A.