Matt McLain has a short September window to save his Reds' future

The Cincinnati Reds would be so much better off in 2026 if Matt McLain had performed as we had all hoped. His scorching hot spring brought about hope. It seemed that some residual ill effects from the shoulder injury that cost him the 2024 season were the root cause of his dramatic 2025 downturn.

Instead, here we are closing in on the end of August and McLain has posted a 78 wRC+, almost identical to the miserable 79 wRC+ he put up last year, and a far cry from the thrilling 129 mark he posted during his sensational rookie campaign.

A combination of McLain's glove, he has surpassed 115 games without making an error, and a dearth of alternatives thanks to Edwin Arroyo's struggles has kept the 27-year-old in the lineup.

Of late, McLain has shown some signs of life with the bat, too. Over his last 13 games, he's logged 50 plate appearances and put up a 98 wRC+. That's the good. The bad is that most of the production has been due to some timely extra base hits and not much else. His batting line over that span is a lopsided .217/.280/.457.

The Reds must replace Matt McLain this winter if he doesn't consistently produce throughout September

We've seen these mini hot streaks before from McLain, but they always fizzle as quickly as they began. At a certain point, he's going to need to produce at a reasonable level for a sustained period of time to justify his roster spot beyond this year. The defensive performance, while good, simply isn't enough on its own.

In order to truly hold on, McLain is going to need to show something at the plate, and it can't be just for a week or two. Through the first five months of the season, he's posted an OPS over .700 just twice. The first time came in June, with a season-best .737 mark, and the second time has been this month, with a .726 mark to date.

The other three months have been atrocious. He recorded a .644 OPS in April, a .566 mark in May, and a ghastly .255 mark in July. That's been more than enough to derail what's been relatively average production in June and August.

If McLain can be just a league-average hitter consistently, his glovework will make him a valuable piece. In order to prove that he can do that, he's going to have to show that he can occasionally turn it up a notch and actually put together a truly hot month.

A fair goal would be setting an .800 OPS goal for the month of September. If he can do that, he'll stack two average-or-better offensive months together and earn another shot. If not, it will be time for the Reds to explore other options. Arroyo shouldn't be written off completely yet, and Cincinnati would be wise to scour the free-agent and trade markets to find alternatives this offseason, as well.

We've said it before, but it's make-or-break time for McLain for real. The Reds can't hold on to hope any longer. At a certain point, results matter.

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