Former Cincinnati Reds prospect Tyler Callihan had quite the performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, and it included his first big-league home run. Amazingly, Callihan's first career homer came off Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and it ended up in the Allegheny River.
Callihan's splash came during the fourth inning of Wednesday night's game at PNC Park. The former third-round pick sent the first pitch he saw nearly 430 feet over the right field wall. The ball left his bat at 107.3 mph.
But Callihan's amazing evening wasn't over. With his team trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Callihan stepped into the batter's box against Dodgers' reliever Kyle Hurt. The Pirates outfielder once again swung at the first pitch he saw, and once again deposited it over the right field fence. That one didn't travel as far (394 feet) but still had an exit velocity over 100 mph.
WET BALL!
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 10, 2026
TYLER CALLIHAN'S FIRST CAREER HOME RUN IS TO THE RIVER! pic.twitter.com/0kTa4rg19S
It was quite a magical night for Callihan, who ended the game going 2-for-2 with two home runs, two walks, three runs, scored, and four RBI. Bravo, young man.
But Callihan's performance is sure to unearth some ill-will from the Reds fanbase. He was part of an offseason trade with Pittsburgh earlier this spring that brought right-handed reliever Kyle Nicolas to Cincinnati. The Reds designated Nicolas for assignment late last month and later traded him to the Baltimore Orioles for cash consideration.
Is Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall on the hot seat?
On paper, the spring trade between the Reds and Pirates was nothing special. Callihan's role on this year's Cincinnati squad would've been terribly redundant, and offloading him to help bolster the bullpen was probably a smart move.
Clearly, however, Nicolas didn't fit into the Reds' long-term plans. His command was heinous — both in the majors and the minors — and Cincinnati was right to DFA him when they did. But this is just the latest example of another gaffe on the part of Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall, and fans are left to wonder how much longer he'll be in charge.
Trading away Callihan can hardly be called a mistake. While he enjoyed a breakout performance against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, he's unlikely to become a star. But Reds fans will see Callihan's performance and think to themselves, "Hey, I remember that guy. Who'd we trade him for?"
Then we they come to realization that the player Cincinnati received in return is no longer part of the organization, it brings about those same negative feelings they felt after watching so many other blunders on the part of Krall and the front office. Krall was at the helm when the Reds signed Jeimer Candelario as a free agent, and he presided over the trades for Gavin Lux and Ke'Bryan Hayes.
To be fair, Krall and Co. also brought in JJ Bleday on a bargain contract, inked former Silver Slugger Nathaniel Lowe to a minor-league deal, and pulled off an under-the-radar trade for outfielder Dane Myers. But Krall's track record is iffy at best, and fans are tired of seeing the Reds play mediocre baseball.
At the moment, Cincinnati is in the NL Central basement. Though there's still plenty of games remaining in the season, if the Reds don't start stacking wins in bunches, they'll be sitting at home in October once again.
Callihan's two-home run game against Ohtani and the Dodgers may not have lit the match, but it certainly added fuel to the fire that's beginning to burn under Krall's office chair.
