The Reds can always count on TJ Friedl

When Terry Francona took over as the Reds’ manager, he already had a strong impression of TJ Friedl. Francona said, “When I saw him on the visiting team, he was a pest out there.”

Francona managed against Friedl six times. Most of those games were pretty nondescript. One of them really stands out.

On August 16, 2023, Friedl had three hits, scored three runs and, most importantly, robbed a home run against Francona’s Guardians. It’s safe to assume that this game caught Francona’s attention.

Friedl hadn’t robbed a home run between then and Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Brewers. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the tying run at the plate, Friedl scaled the center field wall and made the catch that he called sweeter than any of the walk off hits that he has in his career.

After the game, Friedl walked into the interview room to speak with the media.

He smiled and said, “How about that?”

Friedl continued, “You dream of that as a kid and an outfielder growing up in the backyard robbing home runs. You always dream of walk-offs, but ending it like that was special.”

No one had a closer vantage point on Friedl’s catch than right fielder Jake Fraley.

“Off the bat, I was like, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’” Fraley said. “I didn’t realize until after how hard he hit it. It was 106 (mph). With how warm it is, that should be way out. I knew he hit it well. As I was going in, I was just watching TJ.”

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he has a chance.’”

“You saw it. Unbelievable. I jumped 50 feet in the air. That’s one of the coolest catches I’ve been able to be a part.”

After Friedl made the catch, Francona said, “You may have seen a grown man cry.”

The beauty of the moment was that there’s no one you’d rather have tracking that ball in Friedl. He’s the Reds’ most consistent and reliable player. He was the same in 2023, and injuries took away some of his explosiveness last season.

Now in 2025, Friedl is back to being the best version of himself.

“He an incredible ball player,” Fraley said. “This isn’t the first time he has done this. The work that he puts in with his preparation is bar-none. He deserves it. He’s having a hell of a year.”

The story of the Reds’ season has been the volatile nature of the offense, the missed plays in big moments and the turning points that have seemed to always go the way of the opponent. But through that, Friedl has provided some real stability.

You know what you’re going to get from him every day.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” Friedl said. “Especially when the bat is not there. Today, I had a couple situations where I couldn’t get the runners in. To make up for it with the glove, there are a lot of parts to the game. Anything you can do defensively, it keeps you in the game.”

He has such a clear idea of who he is and who he isn’t as a player, and Friedl has done a good job of playing to his strengths. He takes away pitches the other way to pick up hits. He’s an elite bunter. When he gets pitched inside, he turns on it and shows some real pop.

Friedl has a .304 batting average with an .809 OPS as well as 35 runs scored. The Reds’ best offense this year has been Friedl getting on base and Elly De La Cruz driving him in.

“For me, it’s getting on base for the guys behind me,” Friedl said. “It’s setting the table, which is something I take a lot of pride in my whole life and more importantly this year.”

In the field, he’s a very sure-handed defender and also makes plenty of highlight plays.

Against the Brewers on Tuesday, Friedl went 1-for-4 and was frustrated by some chances that he missed at the plate. In the seventh inning, he struck out with two runners in scoring position.

His robbed homer more than made up for that strikeout.

“He’s relentless,” Tyler Stephenson said. “He plays his butt off. I’m happy for him. He’s a huge sparkplug for this team, and he can do it in so many ways.”

Strong center fielders are difficult to find. Since the start of the 2023 season, 11 total center fielders have accumulated 5+ Wins Above Replacement. Friedl is in that group and has accumulated 5.8 WAR over the last three years.

Friedl doesn’t get a ton of recognition outside of Cincinnati, but the Reds recognize the value that Friedl brings to the table consistently.