Reds Notes: Sal, Elly, Rotation, Coaching Staff

Newly minted National League Rookie of the Year Sal Stewart is a clear building block in Cincinnati, but the Reds have yet to approach Stewart about a contract extension, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Reds locked up budding ace Chase Burns on a seven-year, $105MM contract over the summer. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them try to work something out with Stewart, though his price tag will probably exceed that of Burns — particularly with some hardware under his belt and a chance to earn some more next week, when Silver Slugger winners are announced. Stewart, 23 next month, split his 2026 season between the infield corners and batted .263/.330/.457 (112 wRC+) with 32 home runs and an MLB-best 115 runs batted in. He walked at a nine percent clip, fanned at a roughly average 22.1% rate and chipped in 15 stolen bases — albeit in less-than-efficient fashion; he attempted 23 steals on the year (65.2% success rate). The Reds control Stewart for five more seasons. He won’t reach arbitration until the 2028-29 offseason. Most of the recent pre-arb extensions for players with under two years of service have gone to young stars who play more premium defensive positions than Stewart, who played 948 of his 1311 innings at first base. Jackson Merrill (nine years, $135MM), Konnor Griffin (nine years, $140MMM), JJ Wetherholt (eight years, $112.5MM), Kevin McGonigle (eight years, $150MM), and Pete Crow-Armstrong (six years, $115MM) all play up-the-middle positions. That said, Stewart has a full year of service, which each of Griffin, Wetherholt and McGonigle lacked. Crow-Armstrong’s deal was signed prior to his massive breakout, when he was coming off a down finish to the 2025 season. It stands to reason that the Reds would be open to signing Stewart long-term, but he’d probably require a second nine-figure deal, as that slate of extensions for young stars illustrates. Cincinnati’s other star infielder, shortstop Elly De La Cruz, has already famously rejected an extension that would’ve established a new franchise record, topping Joey Votto’s $225MM deal. That happened back in 2025, and the price has surely only climbed since. It’s hard to envision a long-term deal coming together at this point, but De La Cruz is still controlled for another three seasons. Would the Reds consider dealing him this offseason, given the lack of extension, the massive haul of young talent he’d command, and the narrowing window of club control? President of baseball operations Nick Krall said there have been no talks to this point but didn’t expressly rule it out. Krall told Charlie Goldsmith of FOX 19 that he takes a “never say never” approach to the trade market while simultaneously downplaying the possibility. “We have three years of control [over De La Cruz],” said Krall. “He’s a really good player on our club. If there’s something out there and someone wants to come to us and talk about it — he’s a great player and I love having him on our team.” The never-say-never approach shouldn’t be construed as a true willingness to engage on De La Cruz. Krall offered similar comments early last offseason when asked about the possibility of trading right-hander Hunter Greene. It prompted a slew of speculation, but there’s no indication a trade was ever seriously discussed. Greene remained in Cincinnati, of course, and has since gone down with a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery in July. He’s expected to miss most or all of the 2027 campaign as a result. That injury, coupled with health troubles for several other arms and the departure of free agent Brady Singer, leaves a hole in the Cincinnati rotation. Krall emphasized to Goldsmith that his focus will be on adding pitching, whether that be via free agency or trade. The latter route could come in the form of dealing young talent for more established starters or trading established veterans for controllable young arms. Krall acknowledged that trading veterans is at least a possibility. The Cincinnati baseball ops leader also noted a focus on durability when it comes to any veteran additions: “You want guys who are going to be on the field,” Krall said. With regard to free agency, the most durable arms available seem unlikely to be in Cincinnati’s price range (with the exception of a potential Singer reunion). No free agent starter has taken the ball more often than Freddy Peralta over the past three years, but it’d be a shock to see a frugal Reds club put forth the sort of long-term deal he seems likely to command. Old friends Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray and Nick Martinez are all out there and likely to command short-term (one- or two-year) deals, but they can each push for salaries north of $20MM. Shota Imanaga is also in those ranks, but his extremely homer-prone nature isn’t a great fit with Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. A pair of more affordable veterans, Zac Gallen and Chris Bassitt, are on the buy-low end of the free agent spectrum and could possibly fit the Reds’ budget. Both rank 12th or better among all free agent starters in innings pitched across the past three seasons. Turning quickly to the personnel side of things, the Reds are adding Anthony Iapoce as their new assistant hitting coach, reports Wittenmyer. A veteran of more than 10 big league seasons in the dugout, Iapoce has previously served as the lead hitting coach for the Rangers and Cubs, in addition to working as the Red Sox’ senior hitting coordinator. He’s also managed the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate, served as the first base coach in Detroit and was most recently an assistant hitting coach with the Astros. The 53-year-old Iapoce never played in the majors but logged nine seasons in the minors after being drafted by the 1994 Brewers. It’s not clear whether his hiring will lead to other changes on Terry Francona’s staff. Chris Valaika, who previously teamed with Iapoce to coach the Cubs’ hitters in 2021, is still the lead hitting coach. Cincinnati already had a pair of assistant hitting coaches (Alex Pelaez, Will Remillard). They haven’t formally announced the Iapoce hire, but further details on the matter should emerge when they do.