Reds’ most valuable player this season isn’t who anyone predicted it would be

Of the reasons to be excited about the Cincinnati Reds coming into this season, you'd have to rank Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, and the returning Matt McLain near the top. After all, De La Cruz put up one of the more electrifying seasons in recent memory in 2024 with his power and speed combo, Greene had finally unlocked his talents to the point where they matched his production, and McLain's return from injury was enough to convince the club to ship Jonathan India out of town.

However, if one were to honestly answer the question of who has been the Reds' MVP this year, none of those guys would be the right answer. Sure, De La Cruz cut down his strikeout rate, but a brutal second-half has brought about the question of how much of the perception of him is based on hype versus projectable talent going forward?

As for Greene, he's looked like an ace when he's been on the mound. But as has been customary with him, he hasn't been available for a large chunk of the season, yet again. And McLain? Well, that's just been a simply brutal situation.

Instead, the answer might lie in the last place you'd expect, setup man Tony Santillan.

Tony Santillan has been the Reds team MVP in 2025

Prior to this season, Santillan had thrown a total of 96.1 innings over his first four big league seasons, good for about 24 innings per year. This year, he's racked up 73⅔ innings over his MLB-leading 80 appearances.

With the exception of a 5.11 ERA in 12⅓ May innings, Santillan has posted an ERA of 2.31 or better every other month this season. Despite that, there were some concerns in his underlying metrics, leaving some folks to believe that he could unravel at any point.

Instead, with the Reds making a frantic playoff push in September, Santillan's 1.54 ERA this month has been his best mark of the season. Time and time again, the big right-hander has come through when it counted most, allowing just a .207 average in high-leverage situations and posting his best K-BB ratio with men in scoring position with a mark of 3.14.

The fact of the matter is, Santillan has been called upon to put out fires in all kinds of different situations and has almost always risen to the challenge. A 2.44 ERA, 9.16 K/9, and reasonable 3.54 BB/9 are nothing to sneeze at.

Santillan is in a position to take over closer duties from impending free agent Emilio Pagan next season for good reason. Whenever Terry Francona and the Reds have needed to rely on him, he's been sturdy, and for that reason, he's the team's 2025 MVP.

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