Reds could turn laughable Brady Singer rumor into a brilliant move

The Cincinnati Reds' trade deadline was underwhelming to say the least. Rather than trading players like Brady Singer and Tyler Stephenson — both of whom were on expiring contracts — the Reds decided to essentially stand pat and only parted ways with Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson.

But lost in the shuffle of all the confusion that comes at the trade deadline was a tidbit of information from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. The longtime MLB insider reported that the Reds would explore the opportunity of extending a qualifying offer to Singer during the offseason.

This is, of course, the same strategy Cincinnati employed with former pitcher Nick Martinez after the 2024 season. Martinez accepted the qualifying offer, and thereby cost the Reds over $21 million last season.

If the Reds choose to double down on that strategy with Singer, they deserve to be laughed out of the league. That's not meant to be a shot at Singer; he's a solid starting pitcher. But this year's QO is expected to be over $22 million. Singer is a durable pitcher who's best served as a team's No. 4 or 5 starter. That type of money should be reserved for frontline starter. Period! End of story.

So while the idea of extending the qualifying offer to Singer is laughable, keeping him on the roster beyond the 2026 season would be a wise investment — especially when you consider the injury history of both Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo.

Reds should sign Brady Singer to a contract extension, not a qualifying offer

Singer is a workhorse. After making 12 starts during his rookie campaign during the abbreviated 2020 season, he's averaged almost 29 starts per year and nearly 160 innings pitched. While most fans like to dwell on stats like ERA, strikeout rate, and xFIP, they neglect the ability to toe the rubber every fifth day. That is an extremely valuable trait.

If you peek ahead into the 2027 season, the Reds rotation probably looks something like this: Greene, Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Chase Burns, and Rhett Lowder. There are a lot of question marks with those five pitchers. Three of the five have spent extensive time on the injured list this season alone, and both Abbott and Burns missed time last year.

Brandon Williamson could be the presumed "depth" starter, but his track is littered with injuries as well. Fellow starters like Julian Aguiar and Chase Petty have spent time on the minor-league IL this season, and José Franco recently suffered an elbow injury. In short, the Reds don't have many durable starters beyond Burns, Abbott, and Singer.

Pitchers get hurt. That's just part of the game. It's also a reason why the Reds should consider signing Singer to an extension or re-sign him in free agency. It won't be cheap — no starting pitcher is — but it would certainly be less than what the qualifying offer is going to cost.

Jack Flaherty signed a two-year, $35 million deal last winter. Michael Wacha inked a three-year, $51 million contract. Nick Pivetta ultimately signed with the San Diego Padres for four years at $55 million. All three of those contracts have an average annual value (AAV) between $13.5 million to $17.5 million. That's probably the range the Reds would be looking at if they hope to keep Singer beyond 2026.

If the Reds hope to compete in 2027, they're going to need to add depth to the rotation. Inking Singer to a new deal would certainly do just that.

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