2 Reds who've already earned 2026 Opening Day roster spots and 2 who've lost them

Most of the spots on the 2026 Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster have already been claimed. Obviously players like Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, and Andrew Abbott will ticketed to open the season in Cincinnati later this month, but there are a handful of roster battles still going in camp.

Chase Burns is fighting out with fellow Wake Forest alum Rhett Lowder for the final spot in the Reds rotation. Will Benson and JJ Bleday have locked horns, as both outfielders appear to be battling for the last spot on the Reds' bench. Terry Francona may need a few more weeks of spring games and practice to figure out which players will be part of the team's Opening Day roster.

But there's already a couple of players who came into camp needing to prove themselves. At least two players did just that, but there was another pair who arrived in Goodyear last month with something to prove and failed to do it. Which two players have already earned a spot on the Reds Opening Day roster and who's already on the outside look in?

Sal Stewart & Dane Myers earned spot on the Reds Opening Day roster

While most Reds fans assumed that Sal Stewart would be part of the team's Opening Day roster, the offseason additions of Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suárez added a measure of intrigue to the impending roster crunch.

But Stewart has answered the call, and is not only likely to break camp with the big-league ball club, but he's all but secured a spot in the Opening Day lineup. The rookie will almost certainly open the 2026 season as the Reds' starting first baseman, and should be slotted somewhere in the heart of Cincinnati's batting order.

Dane Myers path to the Opening Day was a little less clear than Stewart's. The Reds have an abundance of fourth and fifth outfielders on the 40-man roster, and because he has minor-league options remaining, Myers needed to set himself apart from the rest in order to be on that plane ride to Cincinnati.

The former Miami Marlins speedster has done just that this spring, and has already drawn a number of starts in center field with TJ Friedl moved to left. Given that Cincinnati will be facing Boston Red Sox left-handed star Garrett Crochet on Opening Day, Myers could be part of the Reds' lineup for the first game of the season.

Zach Maxwell & Luis Mey lost their chance at the Reds Opening Day roster

While Stewart and Myers may have already locked up their respective spots on the Reds Opening Day roster, Zach Maxwell and Luis Mey might as well plan a trip to Louisville, Kentucky to begin the 2026 season. Both relievers have struggled with command and control this spring, and Francona has no patience for pitchers who consistently walk the opposition.

Maxwell and Mey each made their Major League debuts last season, and while their high-octane stuff can light up the radar gun, that hardly matters if it's off the plate. With MLB's new ABS system in place, precision and command have become even more important.

Maxwell has walked four batters in just 2⅓ innings of work, and Mey has issued three free passes across two innings pitched. There's probably just one — and no more than two — bullpen spot(s) up for grabs, and at the moment, it's a two-horse race between Sam Moll and Tejay Antone. Maxwell and Mey look to have already blown their opportunity.