The 2025 season for the Cincinnati Reds had its ups and its downs. The team made the playoffs, but they weren’t exactly good. Cincinnati finished the season strong, but still finished 83-79. And then they were swept in the playoffs as the franchise extended the longest streak in North American professional sports to 30 years without advancing in the playoffs.
Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall told Mark Sheldon of Reds.com on Monday morning that Terry Francona and his entire coaching staff will be returning for the 2026 season.
That is certainly going to raise some questions and concerns around the fanbase, particularly when it comes to those in charge of the offense. Reds hitters didn’t exactly have a good season. No one hit for any power. Elly De La Cruz hit .264/.336/.440 and was easily the best player by OPS+ on the team when it comes to OPS+ and he was barely above-average. Among the returning players, no one really took a step forward except for Noelvi Marte. Multiple hitters took steps backwards.
It’s tough to make a good case that Chris Valaika did well as a hitting coach. The only good hitter on the team was a guy who got 103 at-bats and was acquired at the trade deadline – Miguel Andujar. The team had an OPS+ of 90, which is OPS but adjusted for the ballparks that a team plays in all year (home and road). That was 26th in baseball and only better than the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Colorado Rockies.
On the flip side of that is Derek Johnson. The pitching staff as a whole was arguably the best in all of Major League Baseball. Cincinnati’s ERA+, which is a team’s ERA that’s adjusted to the ballparks that the team plays in all year, was 119. That was the best in Major League Baseball. That 119 ERA+ was the best by a Reds team since 2012 when they put up a league best 123 mark.
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