3 bad contract swaps Reds should pursue once the 2026 season ends

The Cincinnati Reds are officially eliminated from postseason play, meaning it's time for Nick Krall (apparently) and the front office to begin focusing on the upcoming offseason.

The impending Collective Bargaining negotiations are likely throw a monkey wrench into the Reds' offseason plans and could alter how the team plans to spend their resources, but for now let's assume that it'll be business as usual.

The Reds have a pair troublesome contracts on the books for the 2027 season, and would do well to rid themselves of a sunk cost (Hunter Greene) and an unproductive player (Ke'Bryan Hayes). But few teams will take on Greene's contract knowing he'll miss all of next season due to Tommy John surgery, and the remaining three years on Hayes' contract make trading him an even harder sell.

There are ways, however, for the Reds to move from both contracts. With Hayes, Cincinnati could simply decide to release him. Doing so would result in the Reds effectively eating the $29 million remaining on his current deal.

Greene's situation is a bit more complex. If Cincinnati decides to move on from their former ace, they'll be doing it when his trade value is at it's lowest. He has two years remaining on his extension, plus a team-option for 2029, but his $15.3 million salary will account for more than 10% of the Reds' 2027 budget. That amount of money, plus the sum the Reds will need to sign another starter to take his place in the rotation could quickly add up to more than $30 million.

So, what are the Reds to do? A somewhat complicated, but known strategy would be to find another team with an equally irksome contract situation and see if you can't work out some sort of "bad contract" swap. Here are three contract swaps that might help Cincinnati actually come out on top.

3 bad contract swaps Reds should pursue once the 2026 season ends

Reds trade Hunter Greene to the Braves for Sean Murphy

This one is pretty straightforward. With Drake Baldwin installed as the Atlanta Braves' starting catcher, they have little reason to hang on to Sean Murphy. The former All-Star has endured a down-year in Atlanta, and has only appeared in 25 games. He's hitting just .200/.261/.353, and has only managed to appear in 191 games over the past three seasons combined.

Murphy's 2026 season began on the IL following offseason hip surgery, but it was a broken finger that occurred during the middle of May that sidelined the former Gold Glove Award-winner for nearly three months. Murphy's battled hip, hamstring, rib, and oblique injuries the past three seasons.

But with long-time catcher Tyler Stephenson set to enter the free agent market this winter, Cincinnati needs a new QB1. Murphy's contract runs through 2028 and he has $30 million remaining on his current deal. The contract also includes a club-option for 2029.

Contractually speaking, this would be almost a straight swap. Considering Greene's upside when he's fully healthy, Cincinnati might need to acquire more than just Murphy to make this deal actually work. Nevertheless, the barebones are there for the two teams to pull off the swap this offseason.

Reds trade Hunter Greene to the Red Sox for Jarren Duran

This trade might actually have some juice behind it. The Boston Red Sox were known to be interested in Greene at this past summer's trade deadline, and even with the Reds' hurler sidelined for the 2027 season, this deal still has merit for both sides. Boston wouldn't bat an eye at Greene's $16.3 million salary for 2028 and his $21 million club-option for 2029.

In exchange, the Reds could acquire the Red Sox's fallen star, Jarren Duran. A former All-Star in his own right, Duran has fallen out of favor with the front office in Boston. He's also lost his spot in the lineup thanks to the Red Sox's ridiculous outfield depth.

Duran received down-ballot MVP votes in 2024, and though some considered last year's .256/.332/.442 to be underwhelming, the Red Sox's outfielder still posted his third straight season with an OPS+ above 110.

Duran is under team control for two more seasons, and after taking home $7.7 million in 2026, his lack of performance won't generate a huge bump in pay through arbitration. Duran is the perfect change-of-scenery candidate for the Reds, and this is the type of deal that could work out well for both Cincinnati and Boston.

Reds trade Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Yankees for Giancarlo Stanton

Go ahead and laugh. Heck, I laughed writing it. You're still laughing, aren't you? That's fine, but follow along while you laugh — this isn't' as crazy as you might think.

Giancarlo Stanton hasn't played in a Major League game since April 24 due to two separate calf injuries, and yet he still has more extra-base hits than Hayes. Great, now that I have your attention, let's see how the numbers work.

Next season, Stanton will enter the final year of the 13-year, $325 million extension he signed with the Miami Marlins. He's owed $25 million next season — which is still $4 million less than the Reds owe Hayes. Furthermore, the Marlins agreed to pay $10 million annually for the final three years of the deal, meaning the Yankees only owe him $15 million.

So the question becomes, could the Reds trade Hayes to the Yankees for Stanton? That's somewhat tricky because they currently employ another all-glove, no-bat third baseman, Ryan McMahon. So it might take some wheeling and dealing on the part of both teams if this swap were ever to come about.

To be clear, the chances of a trade like this happening are slim to none, but I racked my brain going through almost every other bad contract on the books and couldn't find one outside of Stanton that even makes logical sense. If anything, that just goes to show you how bad Hayes and his contract truly are. Sheesh.

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