Reds gain ground as NL Central rivals retreat but one roadblock still looms large

One of the Cincinnati Reds' biggest division rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, are reportedly concerned about their payroll heading into next season. That's right, the reigning NL Central champions, who just set their highest attendance numbers since 2019, are looking to cut costs in 2026.

The Athletic's MLB writing staff of Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal, and Katie Woo (subscription required) believe that Freddy Peralta could now be moved this offseason. Peralta, who's under contract for just $8 million next season, has already been bandied about as one of the top trade targets this offseason.

The NL Central is just begging for team to assert their dominance and run past the competition. The St. Louis Cardinals are selling off their most expensive assets, the Pittsburgh Pirates continue to be an embarrassment, and now the Brewers are shopping their best pitcher. The only team better positioned to win the NL Central than the Reds, at least on paper, is the Chicago Cubs — and they're likely to lose Kyle Tucker to the highest bidder.

Reds' failure to increase payroll when the NL Central competition is cutting cost will frustate fans

But just like three of their of four division rivals, the Reds have their own monetary concerns. President of baseball operations Nick Krall has already said that the team's 2026 payroll will be in line with what they spent last season, which was just less than $120 million.

As such, after adding in all the arbitration raises, the Reds have about $20-$25 million to spend this offseason. Seeing as how Cincinnati lost half their bullpen to free agency and have a gigantic void in the middle of the lineup, it's tough to see how Krall and Co. can patch all the holes on such a modest budget.

And that's where Reds fans begin to get impatient. Even a 10% increase in spending from last year to this year would raise the Reds' payroll from $119 million to about $130 million. Using last year's figures, that would put Cincinnati in line with the Minnesota Twins who had the 10th lowest payroll in baseball.

Rather than go against the grain — while every other competitor in the division is subtracting from their payroll numbers — the Reds are perfectly content to just stay the course. With that mindset, it's no wonder why fans throughout the Queen City expect little more than season in which the team hovers around .500 and ultimately watch their playoff hopes fade in the Wild Card round.