One step forward, one step back.
The Cincinnati Reds have yet to field anywhere close to their full offensive force so far in 2025, and the overall results reflect a team that’s been piecemeal all season.
They’re roughly a .500 team. They’ve been roughly average. Never once have they seemingly had the entire crew together for an extended period of time, and not once have they manage to really get into an offensive groove that infects the entirety of the lineup.
Sadly, it appears that trend is going to continue for at least the next 10 days.
Despite the good news that Jake Fraley is healthy and back off the injured list, that comes at the expense of Austin Hays, who’ll return to the IL on the opposite end of that transaction after fouling a ball off his foot during this week’s series in Kansas City.
The Reds announced that move this morning alongside the news that Lyon Richardson has been recalled to the roster, too.
The #Reds today announced the following transactions: pic.twitter.com/QoRfyZ0Egt
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 30, 2025
Hays has logged just 130 PA so far this year, but his 140 OPS+ in that time has been the best on the club among any ‘regular’ who’s logged triple-digit PA this year. On top of that, he’s a right-handed bat that clobbers lefties, something this roster simply cannot seem to replicate at all this year. Adding Fraley back does, in theory, give them another quality bat against RHP, but throws the nature of the outfield mix into a serious imbalance on days when they are set to face southpaws.
TJ Friedl, Will Benson, Gavin Lux, and Fraley all hit left-handed, after all. That’ll seemingly be a headache for manager Terry Francona going into the next week and a half, especially when late-game scenarios featuring talented lefty relievers begin to enter the equation.