Today is the last day for a MLB team to tender a contract to their arbitration eligible players. The Cincinnati Reds have a few of them, but not many questions surrounding them, at least in my opinion. Let’s get into who those players are that could be non-tendered. Note: The Reds DO have guys that are arbitration eligible, some like Sam Moll, Tyler Stephenson, Alexis Diaz, Nick Lodolo..but we all know these guys are going to be tendered. No need to look into them.
Infielders:
Ty France is the highest ticket guy here on this list, and it’s almost assuredly going to be an easy decision, even if they did trade for him. He’s going to cost $8,600,000 if he’s tendered, his production was…nope. Slashing a mere .251/.292/.391/.683…he’s not getting tendered. I don’t even need to go into this one.
Nati’s Take: Don’t tender Ty France.
Santiago Espinal is the one Red with a decision looming over his head. If it’s up to me, I think his depth is well worth the $4,000,000 he’ll cost. He’s a decent defender at multiple positions in the infield, a former All Star, and he really came on late in 2024. His ability to put the ball in play speaks for itself, too, and with Chris Valaika, a guy known for wanting his players to put the ball in play, I think Santiago is safe.
Per Santiago’s Savant page, he is in the lower 90th percentile for both whiff % & K% – furthering the “doesn’t K much” philo. Although he took a tiny step back defensively in 2024, I really think he’s way better than -1 OAA at 3B, and he’s way, way better than -2 OAA at 2B. Now…most teams will rarely pay a reserve $4,000,000 to ride the bench late into games, and Santiago is going to be doing that. He’s not starting over Elly or Jeimer…or McLain. However, if the Reds plan to trade Jonathan India like rumored, they may need to hold onto him, cause looking at the depth chart, they’re going to be relying on someone like Tyler Callihan, a kid that hasn’t played above AAA yet.
Nati’s Take: Tender Santiago Espinal.
Outfielders
Jake Fraley leads the way here at a $3,300,000 tag. I think it’s undeniably an easy decision to go ahead and tender him a contract. Even at his worst so far, dealing with a ton of off the field stuff like his precious daughter getting and dealing with cancer, he was STILL a positive producing player. He was finally healthy, still racked up a ton of hits, 26 of his 97 were XBHs..he still threaded the .330 OBP needle. He’s definitely getting tendered in my head, and he should.
Nevermind his bat, his defense in the outfield should get him tendered the way it is, as should his speed. $3.3M is a light tag, and one the Reds should already of prepared to pay. He fits the Reds team(s) very well, and is a good leader in the clubhouse, too.
Nati’s Take: Tender Jake Fraley.
Pitchers
Ian Gibaut spent the majority of the 2024 season on the IL and didn’t pitch in the big leagues until late September, but his 2023 production can’t be ignored, and won’t be. In 2023, he had a 140 ERA+ which would rank in the upper 4 in that bullpen. He carried a 3.33 ERA in 74 games, and finished 15 of them with 3 saves. Gibaut will only cost $800,000 this is an extremely easy decision for Nick Krall and Brad Meador.
Nati’s Take: Tender Ian Gibaut
Now this one is going to break my heart, and I sincerely hope the Reds make it right by him somehow, someway, because he deserves it. But Tejay Antone… He’s due $1.1m if he’s tendered, and the liklihood of him pitching again is so low, especially in 2025, that I don’t think it’s worth it to tender him a contract. He’s on his third TJ surgery. I don’t doubt Tejay Antone for a second, but there’s not a long list of folks that have ever came back from a third TJ.
Nati’s Take: Non-tender Tejay Antone
