Key Stat Must Rise for Reds to Become Legitimate Contenders in 2026

The Reds had two big needs this offseason: adding a power bat and improving the bullpen.

They've added two nice arms to the bullpen with the re-signing of closer Emilio Pagan and the signing of left-hander Caleb Ferguson.

However, they've yet to add a real impact bat to help lessen the burden on Elly De La Cruz and others.

ESPN.com recently picked a stat that will make or break every National League team.

"The Reds made the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2013, mostly on the strength of their starting rotation," ESPN.com's David Schoenfield wrote. "Indeed, despite playing in the second-best home run park via Statcast metrics, the Reds received just 51 home runs from their outfielders (including hitting just 25 at home from the three positions). Cincinnati's outfielders finished 21st in the majors in homers and 20th in OPS."

Cincinnati's rotation is very deep and has the potential to be one of the best in all of baseball for 2026. However, the team clearly needs power and they've yet to address that.

"As a team, the Reds finished tied for last in the majors in average exit velocity, so the lack of teamwide power won't be any easy fix with swing changes or just elevating the ball more often," Schoenfield continued. "They will probably have to go outside the organization to improve their power, including perhaps trading a pitcher to land a bat, especially because apparently there was big money available for only Schwarber."

While hitting coach Chris Valaika loves to stress the importance of line drives and situational hitting, this teams need power more than anything.

With just a little bit more than a month until pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training, time is ticking for Cincinnati's front office to make a splash.

You can read the full article here.