Matt McLain's late-season surge is forcing a conversation Reds never expected to have

Matt McLain has caught fire of late. The Cincinnati Reds second baseman has hits in seven of his last eight games, and on Tuesday, recorded his first multi-hit game since August 7. McLain's sudden outburst has Reds fans wondering where he's been all season.

McLain's 2025 campaign started off with a bang, but since the first week of April he's been one of the worst hitters on the team. From April 2 through August 23, he was hitting just .216/.297/.307. But since the Reds' win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 24, McLain has posted a .320/.393/.600 slash line with a double and two home runs.

The Reds and McLain engaged in contract talks this past offseason, and after seeing him post horrific numbers throughout most of the 2025 season, Nick Krall and front office had to be breathing a sigh of relief. But if McLain's recent stretch can carry over into the final few weeks of the season, perhaps the two sides could revisit contract extension talks this winter.

Matt McLain's late-season surge could force Reds to revisit extension talks

Can we be honest for a moment? The Reds are not going to do what's necessary to sign Elly De La Cruz to a contract extension. Sad as that may be to some Reds fans, it's the truth. De La Cruz would command a multi-year deal worth at least $300 million, and that's just not how the Reds do business.

McLain, on the other hand, could be had for much less and is exactly the type of player the Reds should have their sights set on. The biggest hurdle could've been McLain's representation, Scott Boras, but he switched representation earlier this year.

At some point, the Reds need to identify the players from this young core who'll be part of the organization moving forward. Based on the fact that the two sides had contract talks earlier this year, it would appear that McLain is among the players Cincinnati would like to keep around.

It remains to be seen if the Reds will use McLain's down-year as a means to negotiate a team-friendly deal or move past the idea altogether. One things for sure — this is an offseason discussion that the Reds front office didn't think they'd be having midway through the season, but if McLain keeps mashing during the month of September, it'll be a topic of conversation this winter.

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