Three Players Cincinnati Reds Should Target in Free Agency

The 2025 offseason may be one of the more pivotal offseasons in recent memory. The team has a nice crop of young talent with multiple years of team control, but some key players will soon be arbitration-eligible, so the time to make a serious push might be now. Given the team’s philosophy when it comes to spending money and increasing the budget, if there is a time to be more aggressive, it is now. Three free agent targets I believe the Reds need to be in on are Devin Williams, Caleb Ferguson, and Kyle Schwarber. If the Reds can land two of these types of players, I think it will be a successful offseason.

Devin Williams may have had a down season in 2025, going 4-6 with a 4.79 ERA, but I think Derek Johnson can get the most out of him. When Williams was with the Brewers, he had 68 saves, a 1.83 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a home runs per nine below one at 0.6. The 31-year-old is projected to sign for around three years, $40 million. That is a heavy price for this current Reds' ownership, but Williams has been an elite back-end reliever his entire career and will give the Reds a closer to replace Emilio Pagan if he decides to go elsewhere. 

Caleb Ferguson fills another need that this Reds bullpen does not have: a reliable left-handed reliever. Ferguson is a native of Ohio, born in Columbus, Ohio, and has been a quality reliever for the majority of his career. Splitting time between Pittsburgh and Seattle, the 28-year-old finished with a 5-4 record, 3.58 ERA, 2.32 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and a 1.16 WHIP in a career-high 70 games. In his career, he has posted a 3.66 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over seven seasons. His contract projection is around two years, $15 million. The Reds desperately need left-handed relievers, and Ferguson is a really good one to try and target. 

The Reds absolutely need to be in on Kyle Schwarber; it only makes sense. The Middletown native grew up a Reds fan, has family in the area, and why not try to bring a championship to your hometown team? This will be expensive, but Schwarber does the thing to bring fans down to the ballpark: hit home runs. The three-time All-Star and 2016 World Series Champion will cost an estimated $145 million over five years. The 32-year-old hit a career high of 56 home runs in 2025 and has hit 187 in his four years with the Phillies. The Reds as a team hit just 167 home runs in 2025 and have not eclipsed 200 in a season since 2021. Schwarber is the impact bat the Reds absolutely need to target this offseason.

"If you asked the childhood Kyle that, yeah, you know, who wouldn't you want to play for your hometown team," Schwarber told FOX 19's Joe Danneman.

There may be an interest to come play in the Queen City in the Schwarber camp, it will be up to the Reds' front office and ownership group to make the interest potentially mutual.