Cincinnati Reds Part Ways With Long-Time MLB Veteran

The Cincinnati Reds designated outfielder TJ Friedl for assignment Sunday, ending a six-year major-league run that began with his September 2021 debut and once made him a fixture in center field and the leadoff spot.

The move, which was announced via the MLB transaction log, cleared a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Carson Spiers, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Louisville after starter Chase Burns landed on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain.

Friedl had been optioned to Louisville a day earlier to make room for recently claimed infielder-outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera.

Friedl, 31, has been with the organization since his first big-league call-up on Sept. 18, 2021. He hit a home run for his first major-league hit the next day and gradually became a regular.

His peak came in 2023, when he slashed .279/.352/.467 with 18 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 138 games. In 2025 he served as the everyday leadoff hitter for a playoff team, posting a .364 on-base percentage across 152 games.

2026 never followed that script. Friedl opened the year in center and at the top of the order but hit just .172/.255/.255 with four homers, 13 RBI and five steals in 91 games.

He was optioned in early June after a .179 start, returned later that month when Blake Dunn went on the injured list, then saw his playing time shrink again. The Reds placed him on waivers in late August; he cleared and stayed with the club until this weekend’s roster crunch.

Career numbers with Cincinnati stand at .246 with 58 home runs, 214 RBI and 60 steals. Defense and on-base skills were long his calling cards; both faded this season as strikeouts rose and extra-base hits disappeared.

He is owed the remainder of a $3.8 million arbitration salary and would have been a strong non-tender candidate this winter.

Manager Terry Francona called the earlier demotion “the hard part” of adding Cabrera and described Friedl as a “wonderful kid” after a long conversation with the player and team president Nick Krall.

Friedl now has seven days to be traded, claimed, or outrighted. If he clears waivers he can elect free agency rather than accept a minor-league assignment.

For a player who arrived as a late-season call-up in 2021 and grew into a reliable everyday piece, Sunday’s designation marks an abrupt close to his Reds chapter.

Whether another club takes a flyer on the left-handed bat and still-serviceable glove remains the next question.