Reds could land the perfect fit for their philosophy (and anger fans by doing it)

Throughout the 2025 season, there seemed to be a growing frustration between the Cincinnati Reds' philosophical approach to hitting and the fans' expectations. While Reds Country was clamoring for big swings and home runs, Cincinnati's coaching staff preferred contact-oriented approach despite the team playing half their games in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in the league.

Reds manager Terry Francona and hitting coach Chris Valaika constantly hammered home ideas like hitting the ball the other way, advancing the runner, and making productive outs. Today's analytics-driven operation oftentimes wages war with that type of philosophy, and finding players who actually fit that mold can be a difficult task.

Nevertheless, there's at one least free agent bat who might fit the Reds' philosophy perfectly. Luis Arraez, a player who's won the batting title in three of the past four seasons, will hit the open market this offseason. Though Reds fans may not like the idea, Arraez is exactly the type of player who'll grab Cincinnati's attention this winter.

Luis Arraez feels like the perfect free agent target for the Reds this offseason

Arraez is essentially a more polished version of Gavin Lux. He has a career batting average of .317 and reached bases nearly 35% of the time. Last season was a down-year for the 29-year-old, and he still hit .292 and only struck out 3.1% of the time.

The issue with Arraez's approach, however, is the lack of power. Though he posted a .469 slugging percentage with 10 home runs in 2023, Arraez's slugging percentage hasn't eclipsed .400 the past two seasons, and he's had just 12 combined round-trippers in over 1,200 at-bats.

A deeper look at some of his advanced metrics reveal that Arraez is at or near the bottom in both barrel rate and hard-hit rate. That's a tough sell for a fanbase who hopes to see more balls leave the yard in 2026.

Arraez is also a terrible defender. One of the biggest reasons — other than the exorbitant salary projections — that Kyle Schwarber is unlikely to be signed by the Reds is due to his defensive limitations. Arraez is just as bad, if not worse, defensively. His -9 outs above average (OAA) virutally mandate that he'd be used as little more than a DH only.

Arraez will undoubtedly pique the Reds' interest this offseason. While his batting profile screams "Reds", there are some red flags as well. The Cincinnati faithful surely won't be shocked to hear Arraez's name bandied about this offseason, but that doesn't mean they have to like it.