The new, now consistent “bad” habit of the Cincinnati Reds new regime…signing aging IF/DH assets with only one or two years of consistent production. A rope not even the bravest seeking thrill would walk, yet the Reds continue to do just that. Subscribe to our Newsletter using the popup or the form below, we want to provide you the news!
Historical Slow Starter
It’s no secret, first things first – it’s spring training, so how much can you really read into somebody like Candy until the seasons going? The more data that piles up, though, the more you CAN start to read into Candelario. As this article is being wrote on 3/18/2025, he is slashing .200/.294/.661 in 30 ABs in spring training.
Use Code “NATISPORTS” on SeatGeek for $20 OFF your Purchase to ANY event!
What’s unfortunate this year, is that he’s supposedly “healthy” and that’s what’s been the biggest talking point for Candelario thus far, how much better shape he showed up in. You can be in good shape and still suck, of course, and unfortunately that’s where he’s been thus far. He has 6 hits in 30 ABs. One was a homer that barely left the ballpark.
Now, while all of that was kind of bad news, he isn’t striking out much, which puts a little bit of confidence in you if you’re an avid baseball fan with general understanding of the game. He hasn’t looked overmatched. He just simply has not looked like a guy that he was brought into be for a 2nd year straight, at least not yet, and that guy is an anchor.
What Do The Reds Do If He Sucks Again?
I think for me, it’s pretty simple, but for them maybe not so much. Might they cut ties? They might phantom-IL him. They might hide him on the bench and use him to pinch hit to shake a dominant LHP or RHP late in a game. For me, though, I’d use him alongside a prospect and trade him and his cash remaining ($32,000,000) and get out of another monetary mistake. They do still have a former All Star that has pretty high contact rates and the ability to play mutliple positions in Santiago Espinal, too.
Nick Krall has said repeatedly he won’t use prospect capital to shake money mistakes, and quite frankly, Jeimer Candelario would be his own regime’s mistake, so those words probably run even deeper than they may have before, but look…there’s no competitive gain for your club when you have someone like Sal Stewart or Edwin Arroyo waiting in the wings, and I think a lot of us would rather see one of those two than a 31 year old struggle in the field and in the box, me especially. Mike Moustakas gave me PTSD. Jeimer Candelario started to do the same to me last year.
Jeimer was worth -0.7 bWAR in 2024, and if you take out his June where he posted an .894 OPS, it would’ve been more along the lines of -1.5 bWAR, so he didn’t earn a single dollar on his fresh 4 year $64,000,000 deal the Reds rarely hand out. He, himself, even felt the disappointment there going as far as paying a video production company to come film his offseason workouts in the Dominican Republic to send to the Reds brass trying to prove to them he’s trying his best and that he’s coming back to the USA in great shape.
What Does It Look Like?
Considering neither are on the 40 man, it’d be a little different, but aggressive, too, which I think Nick Krall’s brass needs to have more of. Sal Stewart can hit Major League pitching at a good clip TODAY. In the showcase game on Sunday night, he started the Reds win off with a bases clearing triple against the Brewers. Edwin Arroyo will give you +6-7 OAA immediately at any level. Both these guys have tremendous upside for opposite sides of the spectrum, and to me, that’s more valuable than a 31 year old struggling to be consistent.
Who do you ask to move? The good news is, Sal AND Edwin can play 2B & 3B, and Sal has got time at 1B, too, should it open the door to CES playing a little bit of 3B, though I feel that unlikely. With Steer down for the moment, this scenario could actually take place with it making a little bit of sense, but it’s highly unlikely that the Reds will start Sal Stewart’s service clock with him slated to start in AA.
Let’s Hope He Picks It Up.
None of us are rooting against Jeimer Candelario, and we all know what he’s capable of, his June run was incredible, especially while he was pushing through multiple injuries. I feel like we need to see some consistency out of him for once, the hot and cold spells can’t continue as a vet making $15m+ to anchor the lineup.
But, as this article brings up, if he DOES NOT perform, the Reds have shown that they aren’t scared to cut bait early, as they’ve already ate $22M from Mike Poopstakas, and I don’t think, with the prospect capital they possess in the infield, that they’ll be scared to do it again. Sal Stewart and Edwin Arroyo are both knocking on the door at the big league level with Sal able to hit MLB pitching today, and Edwin able to field the diamond at gold glove caliber levels and a great ceiling offensively. I wouldn’t take a single AB for granted if I were Jeimer! There’s kids behind him.
