Reds are buying into Terry Francona's approach and this mind-boggling stat proves it

Terry Francona has the Cincinnati Reds off to a roaring start in 2026. Heading into Tuesday's contest against the Miami Marlins, the Reds are 7-3 through their first 10 games of the season and are 4-0 on the road for the first time since 1990. That's an impressive stat.

But even more impressive is the fact that Cincinnati has yet to commit a single error on the season. You read that right — the Reds are the only team in all of Major League Baseball without an error on their ledger.

Anyone who's watched the Reds over the last few seasons knows that the team's defense has been an ongoing problem. Cincinnati was just outside the bottom-third of the league in errors last season with 87 miscues. At the moment, they seem to have rectified that problem.

Reds are buying into Terry Francona's vision of playing clean baseball

Francona has been preaching the need to play "clean baseball" since his arrival in Cincinnati. His vision includes high-quality pitching and solid defensive play. The Reds have provided both during the early going of the 2026 campaign, and the results speak for themselves.

Francona began the year with two of his top starters on the injured list. Hunter Greene underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery in March and Nick Lodolo is dealing with a chronic blister issue that won't go away. But in their absence, the trio of Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder, and Brandon Williamson have all answered the bell.

Those three starters have started a combined six games and allowed just nine runs over 33⅓ innings. That comes out to an impressive 2.43 ERA. Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer have done their jobs as well, and the bullpen has been magnificent through the first two weeks of the season.

Reds utility player Spencer Steer has been one of the biggest supporters of Francona's mantra, saying, “When we play clean, we win.” At the moment, it's difficult to argue that point.

It would be negligent not to mention Elly De La Cruz's defensive performance through the first 10 games of the 2026 season. De La Cruz was an easy target for the fanbase after leading the league in errors for two years in a row. He committed a league-high 29 errors in 2024 and followed that up with another 26 miscues last season. So far, so good for the Reds' superstar shortstop in 2026.

The statheads won't like the Reds' -5 defensive runs saved (DRS) or 1 out(s) above average (OAA), but those statistics only tell part of the story. If Cincinnati can keep the mistakes to a minimum and not beat themselves, they're going to win a lot of games in 2026.