The Cincinnati Reds have signed two players to minor league deals for the 2026 season. Infielder Michael Chavis will be joining the organization for the first time. Pitcher Brandon Leibrandt will be re-joining the club after pitching with Cincinnati in the 2024 season.
30-year-old Michael Chavis has spent parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball. The last time that happened, though, was when he played in 48 games for the Washington Nationals back in 2023. He’s played for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Nationals from 2019-2023. He played in 357 games during that time at the big league level. Chavis has hit .238/.283/.401 as a Major League Baseball player.
During the 2024 season he saw time in Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox organizations. In 2025 he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and spent 63 games in Oklahoma City where he hit .291/.350/.547 before he was released midseason so he could go play in Japan. Things didn’t go well with Chunichi when he was at the highest level there, hitting just .171/.267/.352 in 38 games. He would also spend 12 games in the minor league system where he hit .293/.348/.415.
Chavis has played first base, second base, and third base regularly throughout his professional career. He has also seen very limited time in the outfield, with almost all of that experience coming in the big leagues with Boston back in 2020 when he made 11 starts in left field for them.
Brandon Leibrandt pitched for the Reds in two games in the 2024 season. He also pitched in the big leagues with the Miami Marlins in 2020, throwing 9.0 innings over five appearances. His dad, Charlie, pitched for the Reds from 1979-1982. In his two outings with Cincinnati in 2024, the then 31-year-old allowed seven runs on 11 hits – three of which were home runs – and two walks in 6.1 innings.
Following the 2024 season Leibrandt became a free agent and signed with the New York Yankees. The lefty pitched well in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Triple-A, posting a 2.85 ERA in 41.0 innings, but he was released midseason so he could go play in China. He would made 14 starts there, posting a 1.94 ERA in 83.1 innings pitched.
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