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The Reds optioned Balcazar to minor-league camp Friday.
Balcazar was added to the Reds' 40-man roster this winter, but he wasn't under real consideration for an Opening Day roster spot. The 21-year-old had a .677 OPS across 51 games with Double-A Chattanooga last season and will head back there to begin the 2026 campaign.
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Reds' Hector Rodriguez: Optioned to minors camp
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The Reds optioned Rodriguez to minor-league camp Friday.
Rodriguez went 2-for-13 with one stolen base across nine Cactus League contests. The outfielder will turn just 22 next week but could play a role with the Reds at some point later this season.
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Reds' Jose Franco: Cut from major-league camp
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The Reds optioned Franco to minor-league camp Friday.
After getting a spot on the 40-man roster earlier this offseason, Franco impressed in Cactus League play with an 8:1 K:BB over 4.2 innings. He should open the 2026 campaign in the rotation at Triple-A Louisville and could debut in the big leagues later on this summer.
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Reds' Edwin Arroyo: Heads to minors camp
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The Reds optioned Arroyo to minor-league camp Friday.
Arroyo netted a spot on the Reds' 40-man roster this offseason, but he wasn't under real consideration to crack the Opening Day roster. The 22-year-old will get his first taste of Triple-A Louisville this season.
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Reds' Julian Aguiar: Sent to minor-league camp
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The Reds optioned Aguiar to minor-league camp Friday.
Aguiar is back healthy after Tommy John surgery, but he was always a good bet to begin the season in the minors. The 24-year-old will begin the season in the rotation at Triple-A Louisville.
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Reds' Noelvi Marte: Delivers three hits
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Marte batted eighth and went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, three RBI and an additional run scored in Wednesday's spring exhibition game against Team Cuba.
Statistics compiled against WBC teams don't count toward an MLB player's official line, but the home run was Marte's second this spring. He had finished up the 2025 season as the team's primary No. 2 batter, but the Reds are looking to return a rejuvenated Matt McLain to that role in 2026. Marte, who has been deployed at several spots in the order this spring, will have a home somewhere as the team's primary right fielder.
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Reds' Rhett Lowder: Cruises Wednesday
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Lowder allowed two hits and struck out three over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against Team Cuba.
Lowder had another strong effort in his third outing, mixing in all four of his pitches during the 43-pitch appearance. It was his second consecutive scoreless effort, and he's now recorded 21 consecutive outs. The right-hander is part of a group competing for the final rotation spot, but Lowder's addition to the starting staff appears to be a formality, especially now that No. 1 starter Hunter Greene left camp to get his elbow checked out.
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Reds' Kyle Nicolas: Flipped to Cincinnati
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The Reds acquired Nicolas from the Pirates in exchange for Tyler Callihan on Wednesday.
Nicolas will compete for a spot in Cincinnati's bullpen after appearing in 82 games for the Pirates over the past two seasons. Nicolas has a career 4.68 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 96:53 K:BB across 98 innings of relief.
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Reds' Hunter Greene: Elbow issue dates back to last year
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Greene revealed Wednesday that the right elbow soreness which prompted an MRI dates back to his "final 5-6 starts" of last season, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
Greene said of the elbow soreness last season that "it was a playoff push, so I pushed through it." The hurler noted that he got an injection and "felt fine" during the offseason, but the discomfort returned a week before the start of spring training. Greene made a Cactus League start Feb. 28 and was touched up for four runs on five hits and one walk over one inning of work. The righty is being sent for an MRI, which will be evaluated by team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek before being sent to specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion. Greene said that "I know I have bone spurs" in the elbow, but "as of now, there's no UCL damage." Those comments were made prior to the scheduled MRI, so more will be known about Greene's outlook after he's evaluated by both doctors. At minimum, he will be shut down through at least next Tuesday.
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Reds' Hunter Greene: Nursing elbow injury
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Reds manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that Greene is tending to a right elbow injury and is scheduled to undergo an MRI, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
According to Pat Brennan of The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds are terming Greene's injury as right elbow stiffness, which presumably cropped up during his Cactus League debut Saturday versus the Brewers or a throwing session earlier this week. The severity of the injury isn't yet known, but Greene told Goldsmith that he hasn't suffered any damage to his UCL. Francona noted that the 26-year-old will be shut down from throwing through at least Tuesday while the Reds plan to first have Greene's MRI evaluated by team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek before sending the results to arm specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion. Dr. ElAttrache previously performed Tommy John surgery on Greene's elbow back in April 2019.
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Reds' Sal Stewart: Hits mammoth homer, plates four
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Stewart clubbed a three-run home run and added an RBI double in Monday's Cactus League game versus the Cubs.
Stewart's long ball off of Collin Snider in the fifth inning went over the batter's eye in center field and was measured at 410 feet and 107.2 mph off the bat. It was the 22-year-old's second home run this spring, and he also added his second stolen base. Stewart cranked five home runs in 18 regular-season games down the stretch for the Reds last season and has breakout potential in his first full big-league season in 2026.
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Reds' Brady Singer: Makes spring debut
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Singer allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out one over two-plus innings in Monday's spring start against the Cubs.
The numbers for Singer's Cactus League debut were ugly, and he was able to generate just one swing-and-miss. The optimistic view is that he managed to throw 46 pitches while throwing his entire arsenal and had three up-and-downs. All four runs scored in the first frame, when the right-hander had some bad luck -- a couple of weak contact hits fell in safely and left fielder Will Benson couldn't come down with a catchable ball.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Locked in at plate
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McLain batted second and went 2-for-2 with two walks, two home runs, six RBI and a third run scored in Monday's spring game against the Cubs.
McLain is wielding a hot stick early in the Cactus League and is 8-for-14 with three homers and nine RBI through five games. He appears poised for a bounce-back season after slumping for much of 2025 and landing in the bottom of the order. McLain is looking like he did in 2023, when he posted an .864 OPS and 127 OPS+ as a rookie.
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Reds' Michael Toglia: Cut from big-league camp
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The Reds reassigned Toglia to minor-league camp Monday.
Non-tendered by the Rockies in November after hitting just .190 with a 39.2 percent strikeout rate in 88 games in the majors last season, Toglia caught on with the Reds on a minor-league deal over the winter and received the chance to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster. However, Toglia showed no signs of improving his poor contact rate during the early stages of Cactus League play, striking out in four of his nine at-bats. The 27-year-old switch-hitter should get the chance to play on an everyday basis at Triple-A Louisville to begin the season, but he'll likely need to cut down on his strikeouts before he gets another look in the majors.
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Reds' Michael Chavis: Falls short in bid for roster
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The Reds reassigned Chavis to minor-league camp Monday.
After finishing the 2025 campaign in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball with the Chunichi Dragons, Chavis returned stateside this winter and signed a minor-league deal with the Reds. Though the 30-year-old had gotten off to a nice start in the Cactus League with three hits -- including a home run -- in 11 at-bats, he always appeared to be a long shot to crack the Opening Day roster. Assuming he doesn't have an opt-out clause in his minor-league deal, Chavis will likely report to Triple-A Louisville to begin the season.
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Reds' Dane Myers: Belts homer
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Myers started in center field and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's spring game against the Athletics.
Reds manager Terry Francona is toying with the idea of Myers in center field and moving TJ Friedl, the team's primary starter in center, to a corner outfield spot. That's an alignment the manager used last Thursday, and Francona told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that he'll do that a few more times this spring. Myers could either serve as a right-handed hitting complement to Friedl, or the two elite outfield defenders could play the same day.
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Reds' Andrew Abbott: One good inning
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Abbott allowed four runs on three hits and one walk while striking out two over 2.2 innings in Sunday's spring start against the Athletics.
Abbott sandwiched two troublesome innings around a perfect second frame. Three batters in, the Reds were down, 2-0, as Abbott surrendered a two-run home run. It was the second homer allowed in as many games. The left-hander then retired seven of the next eight batters before ceding a two-out, run-producing double in the third, which ended his day. Abbott worked his pitch count to 43 (28 strikes) in his second Cactus League start.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Hits in four straight
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McLain batted second and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's spring game against Milwaukee.
McLain has batted second and gathered hits in all four of his Cactus League appearances so far, going 6-for-12 with a walk and three RBI. He opened 2025 batting near the top of the batting order but struggled for much of the season and eventually was dropped to the bottom third. If he continues to hit like this, McLain could find himself batting second again with protection from Elly De La Cruz behind him.
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Reds' Hunter Greene: Shaky spring debut
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Greene allowed four runs on five hits and one walk over one inning in Saturday's spring start against the Brewers.
Greene threw a total of 37 pitches (21 strikes) against eight batters over two different innings in his Cactus League debut. The right-hander used his typical arsenal of four-seamer, slider and splitter but not the two-seamer he'd worked on during the offseason. He was yanked in the first without retiring a batter and lamented his location to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "Results obviously weren't great but going in, the plan - especially adjusting to the ABS - I wanted to fill the zone up. I was probably too middle today," Greene said. "Obviously, it's a good hitting team. I was trying to find a little bit more of those corners." Greene was better in his second inning, which included a walk, a groundout and double-play groundout. Despite the trials, the pitcher said he felt great, and manager Terry Francona was pleased with how the ball was coming out.
