2025 MLB First-Half Recap: Cincinnati Reds

The Pitching

The Good

It’s been an interesting year offensively for the Reds. However, the reliable names have been there.

Elly De La Cruz has not been on stolen base binges as much as he was in 2023 and 2024. However, he’s near a 20-20 season to this point, as De La Cruz hit 18 home runs and posted a .854 OPS over the first half of the year.

TJ Friedl picked up 24 extra-base hits over the first half and became a key sparkplug for the team. And Austin Hays, who signed a one-year deal after a down 2024 with Baltimore and Philadelphia, slashed .274/.332/.521 (.852 OPS) with 10 home runs across his first 52 games, in what has been an injury-riddled season.

However, the real strength for the Reds this season has been their pitching staff.

As of July 23, the Reds had four starters make 17+ starts for the team, including All-Star Andrew Abbott, who stymied hitters for much of the first half. Hunter Greene struck out 73 over 59.2 IP but had multiple IL stints.

Their bullpen, in particular, has been vital. Emilio Pagan provided stability for the team in the late innings, as he picked up 20 saves in the first half and established himself as the team’s closer.

Tony Santillan, Scott Barlow, Taylor Rogers, and Brent Suter have been reliable, while Graham Ashcraft (124 ERA+) settled into a relief role.

The Bad

Let’s start with the offense.

While the Reds did see an uptick in offensive production from Noelvi Marte, who didn’t hit in 2024 at all — whether it was in the Majors or LIDOM — it was a severely down year for Jeimer Candelario. Candelario hit .113/.198/.213 (.410 OPS) with four extra-base hits across 22 games, which earned him a DFA.

The Reds had to eat the remainder of Candelario’s three-year contract, which he signed in December 2023.

However, Candelario wasn’t the only one to come out of the gate cold. Matt McLain, who missed all of last year, is one of four Reds to be in double digits in home runs. His .634 OPS in the first half, though, ranked him among the bottom 20 of the league (min. 250 PA)

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, meanwhile, walked just three times and posted a .610 OPS over his first 36 games.

On the pitching side of things, 2023 NL All-Star Alexis Diaz‘s time in Cincy ended. Diaz had a tough spring, didn’t pitch well when healthy, and earned a demotion to Triple-A. Eventually, the Reds traded him to Los Angeles in late May.

What to Expect in the Second Half

Cincinnati is hanging in the NL playoff race, as the Reds were two and a half games out of a Wild Card spot as of July 23.

With Hunter Greene set to come back soon, the Reds will have added reinforcements for what will be a tight August schedule. Cincinnati will have pivotal matchups against the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Brewers, and Dodgers in August.

First-half stats as of All-Star break. Cited stats, unless otherwise indicated, in paragraphs as of writing.