Reds fans want JJ Bleday called up but there’s a clear catch

JJ Bleday was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to begin the year and he's done nothing but mash. Ahead of Tuesday's game, he's hitting .338/.443/.635 with five home runs and 18 RBI through 20 games. The Cincinnati Reds promoted Rece Hinds to the big-league roster after he posted similar stats to begin the season, so why is Bleday still in the minor leagues?

Would you believe it's because the Reds don't have a spot for him on the active roster? While Reds fans may scoff at the notion, the truth is that there's not an everyday role for Bleday at the moment.

The Reds don't want to use JJ Bleday as a bench bat

Sure, the Reds could very simply option Will Benson back to Triple-A in favor of Bleday. That's the easy part. Finding regular at-bats, however, is not so simple. One look at Benson's game log — six at-bats in the last seven games — should give Reds fans a pretty good idea of what Bleday's role would be if he were on the roster right now.

The Reds appear to be giving Hinds every opportunity to become the team's everyday right fielder. Noelvi Marte was optioned back to the minors after just 10 games and is now spending time in both right and center field with the Louisville Bats. Hinds has started six games since been recalled just over a week ago, and has come up with some key hits in big moments over the past few days.

TJ Friedl remains the Reds' leadoff hitter and the majority of his starts have come in center field. After a slow start to his 2026 campaign, Friedl's shown signs of life lately. Dane Myers has been a revelation for manager Terry Francona and has seen time in center field as a defensive replacement or in the starting lineup against left-handed starters.

When Myers is in the lineup, he's usually flanked by Friedl or Spencer Steer to his right. Sal Stewart's outstanding start to the season has all but eliminated the idea of Steer playing first base in 2026. Nevertheless, Francona values Steer far too much to just shove him into a bench role.

As you can see, unless the Reds plan to use Bleday as bench bat, there's little need to call him up to the big leagues at the moment. In fact, Cincinnati may be doing more harm than good if they took such an approach. Bleday may force the Reds hand at some point, but for now, he's best suited to remain in the Derby City.

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