Reds should start their mid-tier free agent search with one of their own

Cincinnati Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall recent said that getting better at evaluating the mid-tier free-agent class as a chief priority for the 2026-2027 offseason, and we couldn't agree more. This middle class is likely where the Reds will live as far as their big investments go, so whiffs here are catastrophic.

What is a mid-tier free agent exactly? We can roughly define them as players who get somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million to $15 million per year, often on multi-year deals. Cincinnati's record over the past few years is pretty abysmal in this strata of the market.

Notable failures include the four-year, $64 million contract given to Mike Moustakas, who subtracted 0.4 WAR from the club during his tenure in the Queen City before the Reds decided to move on and eat the remaining $22 million on his contract. Another is Jeimer Candelario, whose nearly $16 million salary finally comes off the books this offseason.

For Cincinnati, these types of outlays represent the top of the investment scale, so while misses hurt every team, they're extra crushing here. However, these types of players, especially the ones a little bit further down the mid-tier spectrum, can also provide a ton of surplus value if handled correctly.

To that end, if Krall wants to improve in this arena, he should start with a player he's already familiar with and lock up lefty reliever Brock Burke.

The Reds desperately need bullpen help, and Brock Burke has already proven to be a valuable piece

The Reds' bullpen was a sore spot in 2026, posting a 25th-ranked 4.68 ERA and squandering many leads that the starters handed over. Looking forward to 2027, it's clear that this is a unit that will need some love.

Cincinnati will be getting some intriguing arms back from injury, such as Graham Ashcraft and Connor Phillips, and also have Luis Mey, who provided some promising flashes, though he also had his share of struggles. Adding some certainty to the mix is crucial, and another issue that smacks you in the face while perusing the current projected Reds bullpen for 2027 is that it's a sea of right-handers.

That's where Burke comes in. With a 2.30 ERA over 74⅓ innings this past season, Burke was a surprisingly good weapon. The southpaw also enjoyed a solid 2025 campaign, posting a 3.36 ERA as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

The 30-year-old neutralized lefties well, allowing just a .195 batting average against. He also proved that he could handle righties, holding them to just a .208 average. Burke's best work came in high-leverage situations, logging 18 innings and holding opponents to a razor-thin .075 average.

Late-inning lefties get paid hefty sums, but Burke isn't a household name like most. Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres will lead the class, thanks to a longer track record, but as big-money contenders line up to throw money at the Cuban native, Burke will fly somewhat under the radar.

The Reds should act fast to retain Burke before the losers of the Morejon chase set their sights on him as a consolation prize. Due to his status as a non-elite reliever, he'll be at the lower end of the pay scale, and perhaps a two-or-three-year deal at $7-$8 million per year gets the job done.

If Krall jumps out and is aggressive with Burke as we suggest, it will set the scene for the mid-level improvements he has talked about, while also giving the Reds clarity on how much money is left in the budget to solve other needs. If he drags his feet, though, Burke could end up getting more expensive and could ultimately slip through Cincinnati's fingers.

Think of Burke as a litmus test. If Krall is serious about his goal, we'll see the lefty retained relatively early on in the free-agent process. If not, we could see more panic spending on riskier options that are less likely to pan out. More of the same is not the answer, so it's time to make a change, and that starts with retaining one of the Reds' own free agents.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow