This season, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain saw his first regular big league action since his 2023 rookie campaign.. He logged an impressive 147 games, but his performance was anything but. In a long, grueling season for the 26-year-old, he never truly found his footing at any point in the season, mostly struggling throughout. Let’s take a look at what went wrong with Matt McLain in 2025.
Matt McLain’s 2025 Statistics
After an impressive 89-game rookie campaign where McLain posted an .864 OPS for a 127 OPS+ in 2023, he missed all of 2024 due to shoulder surgery. He was penciled in at second base from day one of spring training in 2025 and remained a staple in the Reds’ lackluster lineup.
The fans and the organization hoped for a boost in the lineup with his return, but were instead met with a meager .643 OPS and 74 OPS+. He managed a slash line of just .220/.300/.343, losing his power that he showed in his rookie year.
McLain had just one month where he posted an OPS above .700, which came in Jun,e where he had an .804 OPS. Other than that small stretch of success, every single month of the year saw McLain hover in the .500s and .600s.
McLain’s Offensive Struggles
One of McLain’s biggest flaws in 2025 was the sheer number of swings and misses. He registered a 28.9 K% (6th percentile) and a 28.5 Whiff% (25th percentile). The peripheral numbers often show a better story than the baseline numbers, but that unfortunately was not the case for McLain this season. His .294 xwOBA, .218 xBA, and .363 xSLG ranked 9th, 4th, and 14th percentile respectively.
A surprising area of struggle for him this year was his performance against left-handed pitching. In 2023, he slugged a staggering .609 against lefties with a .995 OPS. In 2025, however, he slugged just .351 against southpaws with a .679 OPS.
To add insult to injury, McLain was one of the team’s worst players in the clutch. During high leverage situations this year, McLain had a .433 OPS for just a 19 wRC+. In all situations with men in scoring position, McLain had a .563 OPS and a 60 OPS+. He was simply never able to come through when the game was in his hands.
Reds 2B Matt McLain was frank about his 2025 season postgame in LA. An offseason ahead to reset.
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy to write my name in the lineup some days, so for him (Francona) to do that means a lot to me. But, at the end of the day, I have to get better.” pic.twitter.com/iZM3ptkiSN
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) October 2, 2025
Successes in 2025
Throughout all of the negativity, many aspects of McLain’s game remained elite in 2025. For starters, his base running and defense were both great. He registered 4 OAA (87th percentile) and made spectacular plays at second base time after time. His quick hands allowed him to turn a plethora of double plays with his middle infield partner, Elly De La Cruz, and his range allowed him to reach balls up the middle that many second basemen simply cannot reach.
On the bases, McLain was one of the fastest players in the league with a top sprint speed of 29.2 MPH (93rd percentile). This allows him to swipe 18 bases while being caught just twice, a fantastic rate exceeding that of 2023.
Key to Success
It is clear that Matt McLain struggled at the plate in 2025. In some ways, it was disappointing to see. However, he did come off missing an entire season, and he is still extremely young in terms of experience.
There is one interesting area in his game that shows he (or the coaching staff) may have limited his abilities. Despite being 5’ 9”, 180 pounds, McLain is a power hitter. His success leans heavily on his ability to drive the ball into the gaps and over the fence, rather than slapping singles around the field like a typical light-statured infielder.
This is evident in his approach at the plate this year, where hitting coach Chris Valaika preached the base-to-base philosophy, wanting the club and McLain to go the opposite way and string together singles. This, however, goes completely against what makes McLain a good hitter.
In 2025, McLain hit the ball to left field (his pull side) 121 times. In these 121 balls hit, he slashed .364/.364/.729 for a 1.093 OPS and 164 wRC+. When he hits the ball to center field, these batted balls resulted in a .662 OPS with a 75 wRC+, and when he goes to the opposite field (right field), these batted balls came out to a .741 OPS and a 99 wRC+.
Matt McLain finds success when his approach is to do damage and drive the ball to left and left-center field. This isn’t to say he should completely sell out for power, but it is clear what his approach should be going forward.
Looking Ahead to 2026
It was a tough year for Matt McLain, no doubt about it. At times, it seemed like he was completely dejected at the plate, but he never carried that over to the field. He continued to do what he could to contribute, and a full, healthy offseason can benefit him greatly.
The current belief is that he will be the everyday second baseman once again in 2026, but next year will be important for the 26-year-old as he aims to prove he can recapture his 2023 form and put a frustrating 2025 season behind him.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The post Looking Back on Matt McLain’s 2025 Season appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.