Reds replacement plan after Jake Fraley injury is bound to upset fans

Update (August 17, 2025 at 11:58 a.m. ET): The Reds designated Jake Fraley for assignment and recalled Will Benson.

The Cincinnati Reds may be without Jake Fraley for Sunday's series finale, and it's possible that the team could place the outfielder on injured list after exiting Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers in extra innings.

Fraley, charging in from left field on a base hit during the 10th inning, slipped on the turf and landed awkwardly. He left the game with the Reds training staff, and was diagnosed with a hyperextended knee. Cincinnati's playing meaningful games and can't afford to be a man down at this point in the season.

As such, if Fraley is declared out, look for the Reds to make a roster move before the series finale against the Brewers on Sunday. While the Cincinnati faithful will be begging for Nick Krall and the Reds front office to call up top prospect Sal Stewart — or even Hector Rodriguez — they'll almost certainly go with one of Will Benson or Ryan Vilade instead.

Reds replacement plan after Jake Fraley injury will likely be Will Benson or Ryan Vilade

Is there a chance that Cincinnati calls up Stewart before Sunday's game? Sure. But Stewart's an infielder, and if Fraley is shelved for a week, the Reds will need an extra outfielder. Austin Hays still doesn't seem to be 100% after returning from his foot injury back in July, and Cincinnati is already experimenting with Noelvi Marte in right field.

Furthermore, both Benson and Vilade are on the 40-man roster already. Being that Fraley is a left-handed hitter, adding Benson (who also hits from the left side) might make the most sense. But, over the last two weeks in Triple-A, Benson is hitting just .219 with a .552 OPS. He was also struggling prior to being sent down on August 3.

Vilade, however has been hitting the ball extremely well of late. While Stewart's been getting all the publicity, and rightfully so, Vilade actually has a higher batting average (.350), on-base percentage (.480), and OPS (1.030) than the Reds top prospect over the last 15 days. Vilade also has positional versatility and can play all over the diamond.

Fraley was already playing through a torn labrum, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Cincinnati chose to play it safe and place him on the IL. Fans will surely get their hopes up, thinking that this is their chance to see Stewart's bat in the lineup. Unfortunately, that's unlikely to happen. Sorry, Reds fans.

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