Is he ‘the’ answer to their offensive problems?
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This week’s MLB Reacts question was simple and straightforward on the surface.
Do you think the Cincinnati Reds should call-up top hitting prospect Sal Stewart for his MLB debut before the end of the 2025 season?
Over three-fourths of you believe so, and given how well Sal has hit so far in the minors this year – including a promotion to AAA Louisville to begin the season’s second half – it’s hard to disagree with you.
77% of you think he’s worthy of a call-up at some point soon, though that points to a much larger issue at hand: the fate of the 2025 Cincinnati Reds. That’s a question that’s not nearly as straightforward as they sit just 50-47 and facing a gauntlet of teams also very much ‘in the mix’ for playoff pushes between now and the trade deadline at the end of the month.
Perhaps the bigger question is this – do the Reds need to add another quality offensive player between now and the end of the season in order to make a tangible chase for a playoff spot? And, if so, is Sal Stewart that guy?
The production the Reds have received from their collective 3B and 2B so far this year has been decidedly sub-par, after all, and those are the spots Sal has played throughout the course of his minors career. Cincinnati could also stand to boost production at both 1B and DH, too, and Sal has long been projected as a guy who might end up as a 1B long-term, too.
While we still need to see what Sal can do at AAA for at least a little bit, we also need to see if a healthy Noelvi Marte can help answer at least one of the above problems going forward. After that, though, it may well be that Sal Stewartat some point in August makes more sense as an offensive addition than mortgaging the farm to add a bat a couple of weeks earlier in what pretty clearly appears to be a seller’s market at the trade deadline.
Sal is clearly on the cusp one way or another. The kid can rake, and we’re going to see him in the big leagues sooner than later.