Jose Trevino's early-exit may prompt Reds to revisit this offseason free agent target

The news coming out of Cincinnati Reds spring training is not good. On Friday, it was announced that starting catcher Tyler Stephenson suffered a mild oblique injury and was unlikely to be part of the Reds Opening Day roster. While Terry Francona wouldn't fully commit to Stephenson opening the season on the IL, that would appear to be the most likely destination for the Reds' QB1.

But the news didn't get any better after Friday's split squad game in Arizona. Backup catcher Jose Trevino was hit on the hand by a foul tip and had to exit the Reds Cactus League game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. X-rays were inconclusive and the Reds will run more tests on Saturday.

If both Stephenson and Trevino begin the season on the IL, it's time to panic. Moreover, Nick Krall will have to make some sort of trade or free agent signing. Austin Wynns is a solid defensive catcher, but Cincinnati cannot rely on the career backup to be the team's everyday backstop to open the 2025 season. Would Krall revisit the notion of signing one of the Reds' offseason free agent targets?

Jose Trevino's early-exit may prompt Reds to revisit the idea of signing All-Star catcher James McCann

Around last year's MLB Winter Meetings, news broke of the Reds interest in free agent catcher James McCann. The veteran was coming off his second season with the Baltimore Orioles and posted a .667 OPS in 214 at-bats. McCann was an All-Star with the Chicago White Sox in 2019, but over the past five seasons has hit a combined .230/.286/.368 and has been worth just 2.2 bWAR.

The Reds eventually decided to move past the idea of signing McCann and instead turned their attention to Trevino. But with the former New York Yankees catcher potentially joining Stephenson on IL, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Reds reach out to McCann once again. Another option could be former Reds farmhand Yasmani Grandal who recently turned down an offer from the Atlanta Braves.

For now, the Reds will wait and see while hoping that Trevino's X-rays come back negative. If that's the case, Cincinnati could choose to go into Opening Day with a combination of Trevino and one of Wynns or Will Banfield. But if Trevino is scheduled to be sidelined for any length of time, the Reds will have to look outside the organization.

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