Reds poach former Cincinnati player and Terry Francona protege for coaching role

Well, the Ohio Cup just got a lot more interesting after Terry Francona's latest coaching hire. Reports are emerging that current Cleveland Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika will be taking the same position with the Cincinnati Reds while also being promoted to a new position; director of hitting. Valaika had been the Guardians hitting coach since 2022 and was part of the Reds organization from 2006-2012.

The Reds were in the market for a new hitting coach after letting Joel McKeithan and his two assistants go shortly after hiring Francona early this month. Cincinnati's offense was one of the worst in the major leagues last season, and adding Valaika is huge step in the right direction.

Reds poach former Cincinnati player and Terry Francona protege for coaching role

While many Reds fans were unhappy with the team's defense and base running mistakes, their hitting wasn't that much better. Cincinnati ranked 21st in OPS, 22nd in on-base percentage, and 26th in batting average. The Reds were also among the top-10 in strikeouts (1,459).

Compare that with the Guardians' stats from last season, and you can see why Reds fans might get somewhat excited about the idea of bringing Valaika over from Cleveland. The Guardians were middle of the pack in both batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS, but only three teams had fewer strikeouts than Cleveland in 2024. Getting the Reds to cut down on the strikeouts should be one of Francona's marching orders for Valaika heading into next season.

This is a major step forward for the Reds as an organization, and is quite similar to what Cincinnati did in 2018 after stealing Derek Johnson away from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Guardians just wrapped up their run in the postseason, falling short in the ALCS to the New York Yankees.

Francona got his guy, and it'll be interesting to see how the Reds' hitting philosophy changes in both the major and minor leagues. If Cincinnati can maintain the power in their lineup while also limiting Ks, the Reds could have a dangerous offense in 2025.

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