Austin Hays could be back from the injured list as early as Friday afternoon, and most Cincinnati Reds fans probably think that’s not soon enough. The Reds have been without Hays since April 29, and the team’s offense has taken a nosedive with him out of the lineup. While Hays is a big part of what the Reds are trying to do this season, he can’t matter that much.

Hays, coming off a down-year in 2024, was arguably the Reds’ biggest offseason signing — and that’s not saying much. Most of the Reds’ offseason acquisitions came by way of trade, though Cincinnati did sign Hays, Scott Barlow, and Ian Gibaut in free agency.

But the lack of production from the Reds lineup in Hays’ absence has revealed how thin the margin for error truly is. The Reds have been unable to obtain a winning record without Hays on the roster, and the same was true earlier this season. Hays began the year on the IL with a calf injury, and the Reds posted an 8-8 record while he was away. The Reds went 8-5 after he returned.

Reds fans expected a drop-off without Austin Hays but this is ridiculous

Hays is a talented player, but even during his best season (2023) he was 2.5 fWAR player. While his numbers have been outstanding through the first month of the 2025 season, Reds fans can’t expect him to continue to post an 1.143 OPS and 205 wRC+. His career .755 OPS and 108 wRC+ are more in line with what fans should expect, though the hope is that he’ll set new career-highs this season.

But Hays’ absence has revealed just how flawed the Reds’ front office approach was this past offseason. While Cincinnati made upgrades at various positions by adding Jose Trevino, Gavin Lux, and Brady Singer, they’re still hovering right around .500 on the season. The improvement to the roster, while nice, may not be enough to push Cincinnati into playoff contention as the season wears on.

If the Reds are serious about contending, the next best time to bolster the roster would be around the July 31st trade deadline. Cincinnati has oftentimes been unwilling to part with prospects in order to improve the active roster, but because of the front office’s shortcomings this past offseason, the Reds may have to get outside their comfort zone.

More Cincinnati Reds News and Rumors

The Cincinnati Reds have made three roster moves today before the start of their series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Outfielder Austin Hays is heading to the 10-day injured list with a left foot contusion. Jake Fraley is being activated from the injured list. And the team has also called up right-handed reliever Lyon Richardson from Triple-A Louisville.

The move of Austin Hays to the injured list is retroactive to yesterday. He was injured in the game on Wednesday in Kansas City when he fouled a pitch off of his foot. Hays will be eligible to return on June 8th. Cincinnati will be missing his bat during his time on the injured list as he’s been the team’s best hitter when he’s been in the lineup, hitting .303/.346/.555 in his 31 games. Unfortunately this is already the third time this season that he’s landed on the injured list.

Jake Fraley is returning to the active roster. On May 10th he was placed on the injured list with left calf tenderness. Two weeks later he joined the Louisville Bats in Triple-A on a rehab assignment. He played in four games with the Bats, going 3-16 with a home run, a walk, and two strikeouts.

Yesterday the Reds optioned right-handed reliever Luis Mey to Triple-A. Today they made the corresponding roster move and called up Lyon Richardson. He had been sent back to Triple-A last week for no other reason than he was one of the few pitchers in the bullpen who had options. Richardson has pitched in 10 games for Cincinnati this season and thrown 13.2 innings while allowing two earned runs (1.32 ERA). He has walked five batters, but two of those walks were intentional. He’s also struck out seven batters while holding opposing hitters to a .220/.310/.300 line in 58 plate appearances when facing him.

Two home runs by Austin Hays and another by Noelvi Marte were keys in the Cincinnati Reds’ 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies before 34,040 at Coors Field.

Final R H E Cincinnati Reds (14-13) 6 13 1 Colorado Rockies (4-22)

4 8 0 W: Greene (3-2) L: Senzatela (1-4) SV: Pagan (7)

Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread

The win put Cincinnati over .500 at 14-13, was their third straight, and fourth in the past six games. They are 5-3 on a nine-game road trip through Baltimore, Miami and ending tomorrow in Colorado

At the moment this post went live, the second-place Reds had pulled within three games of the first-place Cubs. Milwaukee lost their fourth straight game today, 6-5 to St. Louis, to fall 1 1/2 games behind the Reds. Barring a big comeback, the Cubs will fall today to Philadelphia. In the seventh inning at Wrigley Field, the Phillies lead 10-2. If that result holds up, Chicago’s lead over the Reds will shrink to 2 1/2.

The Offense

Cincinnati’s combined hitting statistics for the day: 13-for-40, 3 walks and 9 strikeouts, 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Noelvi Marte started the scoring with a two-run, 433-foot homer to left-center off Rockies righty Alfredo Senzatela, following a single by Gavin Lux. The second-inning shot, which would have been a home run in every major league stadium, put the Reds up, 2-0.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the fourth, Austin Hays launched one 407 feet into the left-field stands to put the visitors up, 3-2. Then, with the score tied at 3-3 in the top of the sixth, Hays struck again, 429 feet to dead-center to put his team again ahead, 4-3. He now has five homers in only 49 plate appearances.

Righthander Jay Bird surrendered a leadoff hit to Jose Trevino in the seventh inning, followed by a TJ Friedl double. Slumping Matt McLain struck out swinging, but Elly De La Cruz walked to load the bases for Hays, who struck out swinging on three breaking pitches. Lux then lined a screamer, but right into the glove of first baseman Michael Toglia to end what looked like it might be a break-the-game-open inning.

In the ninth against Rockies reliever Tyler Kinley, Trevino drew a leadoff walk, and Friedl blooped one into short left for a single. McLain flied out to left-center. A wild pitch advanced Trevino to third with one out, followed by a big RBI single by De La Cruz on the 11th pitch of his at-bat to put the Reds up, 5-3. Elly then stole second, with Friedl already at third, prompting Rockies Manager Bud Black to intentionally walk Hays to load the bases. Blake Dunn, who had come on defensively in left field for Lux, lined out to Toglia for the second out. Spencer Steer dribbled a slow roller to third base and beat Ryan McMahon’s throw to first to boost Cincinnati’s lead to 6-3. Righthander Jaden Hill then came in to strike out Marte and end the inning.

The Pitching

The composite Cincinnati pitching line: 9 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs — and very importantly in Coors Field: 13 strikeouts and only 1 walk.

Starter Hunter Greene went six innings, allowing seven hits while striking out eight Rockies.

Following a second-inning leadoff hit by Hunter Goodman, Toglia blasted a hanging slider 457 feet to center field for a two-run shot that tied the score at two apiece.

Leading off the bottom of the fifth, Rockies second baseman Adael Amador hit his first major league home run down the line in right to once again tie the score at three each.

With Greene at 98 pitches after six innings, Manager Terry Francona went to his bullpen. Scott Barlow entered in the bottom of the seventh and retired Colorado 1-2-3 in one of his more impressive outings of the year. Alexis Diaz then came on in perhaps the most critical game situation he’s seen so far, and held the Rockies scoreless in the eighth to preserve a one-run lead. The only runner who reached against him was on a Marte throwing error.

Closer Emilio Pagan entered in the bottom of the ninth, allowing a two-out walk to former Red Nick Martini, and a bloop double to Amador which got by Friedl in center, allowing Martini to score. But he struck out the side to earn his seventh save of the year, and third in as many games.

Friedl had three hits to raise his numbers to .295 / .348 / .400 / .748. De La Cruz, Hays, Lux and Steer had two hits apiece.

One Fan’s Thoughts

It occurred to me the other day that part of the reason the Reds’ fortunes have shifted in a positive direction this season are the acquisitions made by President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall. But I hadn’t tracked how the players the Reds sent out to other teams in the off-season trades, so I thought I’d take a look.

Jose Trevino, who came from the Yankees for Fernando Cruz, has been a surprise with the bat, hitting .309 / .356 /.473 / .829. He’s also been solid defensively. Combined with fellow bat surprise Austin Wynns, Reds catchers combined are hitting .352 with an OPS near 1.000. So far, there’s no question that trade has helped Cincinnati. Cruz, who is now in the Yankees bullpen, has a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings with 21 strikeouts. So the Yankees certainly are happy with how it’s worked out for them so far.

Gavin Lux came from the Dodgers for a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick and outfielder prospect Mike Sirota. Neither will have any impact for LA at the major-league level this year. Lux has settled in as a middle-of-the-order bat against righthanders primarily, hitting .325 / .423 / .422 / .845.

Righthander Brady Singer came from Kansas City for infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer. India’s off to a slow start for the Royals (.202 / .304 / .258 / .562), and Wiemer is in the minor leagues. Singer, on the other hand, is off to a great start at 4-0 with a 3.62 ERA.

Lefthanded reliever Taylor Rogers has a 2.00 ERA in 11 appearances after being acquired from San Francisco for minor league pitcher Brandon Roxby.

Outfielder Hays and pitcher Barlow have most definitely been positive free-agent acquisitions.

Long story short, Krall’s off-season grade card — at least at this early point — looks like an A. The only player surrendered who is contributing for his new club is Cruz, but he is not missed from an improved Reds bullpen.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds at Colorado Rockies

Sunday, April 27, 3:10 p.m. ET

Nick Lodolo (2-2, 2.79 ERA) vs. Ryan Feltner (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

The Cincinnati Reds took a lead in the top of the 1st inning and they never looked back. Nick Martinez cruised through the Royals lineup for the first six innings of the game before Kansas City was finally able to get on the board but their comeback fell short as the Reds held on for a 7-4 win.

Final R H E Cincinnati Reds (27-28) 7 14 0 Kansas City Royals (29-26) 4 7 1 W: Martinez (3-5) L: Lorenzen (3-6) Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread

TJ Friedl began the game with a double into the right field corner and then took third base on a wild pitch. Austin Hays drove him in later in the inning with a sacrifice fly that put Cincinnati up 1-0.

After the Reds stranded two runners in the 2nd inning, they went back to work in the top of the 3rd against former reliever/starter/sometimes outfielder Michael Lorenzen by getting singles from Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz to begin the inning. After a force out, Cincinnati got back-to-back RBI singles from Gavin Lux and Tyler Stephenson before Will Benson hit a sacrifice fly to cap off a 3-run inning.

Nick Martinez was cruising through the lineup in Kansas City and with a 4-0 lead entering the bottom 3rd he just kept on going as he needed just six pitches to record three outs to keep his outing perfect. Former Red Jonathan India broke things up with a leadoff bloop single into shallow right field that fell between three converging fielders. Vinnie Pasquantino would come through with a 1-out single and put some pressure on Martinez for the first time on the day, but the Reds starter got Salvador Perez to hit a grounder to Matt McLain at second base that saw him turn an inning-ending double play.

Cincinnati went right back to work against Lorenzen in the 5th when Gavin Lux worked a 5-pitch walk to begin the inning. The first pitch to Tyler Stephenson was crushed 399 feet and landed deep into the Reds bullpen for a 2-run homer that made it 6-0.

The score stayed there until the bottom of the 7th inning. Nick Martinez began the inning with just 55 pitches thrown, but the Royals made him work. After a leadoff single, Salvador Perez came through with a 2-run home run to put Kansas City on the board. Maikel Garcia then followed up with a double and he’d later come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Nick Loftin that made it 6-3. In all, Martinez used 24 pitches to get through the inning, but he kept the visiting team in front.

The Reds put together a little bit of a 2-out rally in the 8th inning when Austin Hays tripled to the wall in center for get things going. Santiago Espinal then came through with an RBI double on a line drive down the line in right field to get one of the runs back for Cincinnati. and push their lead back to four.

After a long inning for Martinez in the 7th, the Reds turned the game over to Tony Santillan in the 8th inning and he got a 1-2-3 frame on just nine pitches to send the game into the 9th. Emilio Pagan entered for the bottom of the 9th and the start of his inning didn’t go nearly as well as Vinnie Pasquantino led off with his third hit of the day and then moved to second base when Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch. After getting a pop up, Pagan walked the next batter to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Drew Waters struck out for the second out of the inning, but then Pagan balked in a run to make it 7-4 and move the trail runners up a base. The game would end a few pitches later on a lazy fly ball to TJ Friedl in center as Cincinnati held on for a 3-run win.

Key Moment of the Game

Tyler Stephenson’s 2-run home run in the 5th inning that extended the lead to 6-0.

Notes Worth Noting

Tyler Stephenson had three hits on the day.

Every hitter in the game for Cincinnati had at least one hit except Will Benson, and he found a way to drive in a run on the day. Six of the Reds hitters got on base at least twice in the game as they had 14 hits and three walks.

Nick Martinez finishes up May with a 2.25 ERA in 32.0 innings pitched. All five of his starts were at least six innings and all five of them were quality starts. He walked just two batters in the month.

Reds pitchers had just one walk on the day.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds vs Kansas City Royals

Tuesday, May 27th, 7:40pm ET

Brady Singer (5-3, 4.88 ERA) vs TBA

The Cincinnati Reds have made a plethora of roster moves today. Two of the moves we seemed to know were coming – Austin Hays has been activated from the 10-day injured list and Hunter Greene heads to the 15-day injured list. There were two other additions to the roster this afternoon. Cincinnati has recalled Will Benson and Chase Petty from Triple-A Louisville. The Reds also optioned both Blake Dunn and Jacob Hurtubise to Triple-A.

Austin Hays is back and seemingly healthy. This move was expected as Terry Francona had mentioned earlier in the week that he was likely going to be back with the team for the opener in Houston. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off because he has been a staple in the middle of the order when he has been o the field. Hays simply hasn’t been on the field much for the Reds thus far, playing in just 13 games. But when he has been in the lineup, he’s crushed the ball to the tune of .365/.431/.712 with three doubles and five home runs.

Outfielder Will Benson is coming back up. His last stint with the Reds didn’t last very long and he only played in one game, going 0-4 with four strikeouts in San Francisco on April 9th. Things have gone much better for Benson with Louisville this season. He’s played in 31 games for the Bats and is hitting .289/.377/.521 with five doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. Benson has 16 walks and 40 strikeouts (29%) in his 139 plate appearances. He’s on a 19-game on-base streak right now, but despite that he hasn’t exactly hit well during it. In the first 11 games of that streak he hit .200/.333/.350. But over the last eight games he’s hit .300/.432/.567.

Chase Petty getting recalled isn’t much of a surprise in itself. But the timing of it is. With Hunter Greene heading to the 15-day injured list everyone knew that eventually the Reds were going to need to call up a starting pitcher to fill his spot in the rotation. Whether that was going to be on Tuesday or the next time through the rotation if the team skipped that spot thanks to the off day on Monday. What’s surprising about it is that the Reds could have called up a reliever until they needed Petty to make the start and give them an extra arm in their bullpen for the Houston series.

With Benson now up, and Rece Hinds having joined the team earlier this week from Louisville, they are replacing both Blake Dunn and Jacob Hurtubise on the Reds bench. Hurtubise and Dunn both made the team out of spring training, but Hurtubise headed back to Triple-A before the second week of the season was over and just recently returned. He’s gone 1-12 in his limited action with the team this year. Dunn has played in most of the Reds games, spending time both starting and coming off of the bench. He’s found ways to get on base – leading the league in hit by pitches has helped him post a .320 on-base percentage, but he simply hasn’t hit. His average sits at .150 and he’s only had three extra-base hits in 75 at-bats.