Reds avoid arbitration with Tony Santillan and the upside could be enormous

Arbitration day usually turns into baseball’s annual “numbers are feelings” festival — leaks, posturing, and the occasional team-player relationship taking an unnecessary body shot. Just look at the Detroit Tigers and Tarik Skubal. So when Cincinnati quietly lands a deal with Tony Santillan at $1.8 million to avoid a hearing, it’s hard not to look at it and see a pure win. 

Per Mark Feinsand, the Reds reached deals with Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo, and Santillan ($1.8 million) to stay out of arbitration drama. Cool. Normal. Responsible. But the Santillan number is the one that should make Reds fans sit up a little straighter, because it reads like a true bargain.

Reds quietly land a massive Tony Santillan bargain and fans should love it

Santillan just put together the kind of 2025 season that gets relievers paid — or at least gets them loud arbitration comps. He appeared in a career-high 80 games, logged 73⅔ innings, posted a 2.44 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP, and struck out 75. He even chipped in seven saves, which isn’t “full-time closer” territory, but it shows a lot of trust. And a 3.0 WAR out of the bullpen is not a throw-in. That’s impact.

MLB Trade Rumors projected Santillan around $2.4 million for his first arbitration year in 2026. The Reds got it done at $1.8 million; a $600,000 difference that matters more than it sounds. Not because the Reds are pinching pennies, but because good bullpen innings have become a premium commodity — and Cincinnati just secured a whole lot of them at a price that won’t make the front office flinch later.

The upside is obvious, if Santillan is this version of himself again, the Reds basically bought themselves a late-inning problem solver without paying the late-inning tax. Maybe he grows into the full-time ninth-inning role down the road. Or he becomes the best “put him wherever the biggest outs are” weapon on the roster. 

Relievers are volatile. But when a guy just proved he can handle a heavy workload while performing at a high level, $1.8 million feels less like a compromise and more like Cincinnati getting away with something. If Santillan’s 2025 breakout was real, this is the kind of quiet deal that can swing an entire season’s mood.