Reds trade for Dane Myers all but slams the door on popular midseason spark

The Cincinnati Reds' pre-holiday acquisition of outfielder Dane Meyers can't be overlooked. The Reds shipped prospect Ethan O'Donnell to the Miami Marlins in exchange for a 29-year-old outfielder who is a quality defender with lots of speed and hits left-handed pitching extremely well. Myers owns a career slash line of .297/.360/.456 against lefties with a 126 wRC+.

Myers isn't a home run addition by any means, but his presence on the roster may remove any possibility of the Reds reuniting with Miguel Andujar. The slugger — who was traded to Cincy at the July 31 deadline — was a revelation after coming over from the Athletics midway through the 2025 season.

Andujar is coming off the best half-season of his career. He hit .359/.400/.544 with the Reds after the trade deadline, and his 159 wRC+ ranked 14th among all MLB hitters with at least 100 plate appearances between August 1 and the end of the season.

A Miguel Andjuar reunion seems unlikely after the Reds traded for lefty-hitting specialist Dane Myers

Andujar's performance is going to justify a sizable contract in free agency, one that may be outside the Reds' price range; especially given the uncertainty of his production with so many peaks and valleys throughout his Major League career.

Andujar was always going to be a tough player to fit on the roster — he's a net-negative defender, and the Reds like to rotate players through the DH spot, rather than having a full-time starter in that role. Myers now fills the role of left-handed hitting specialist, and it's hard to see a path back to Cincinnati for Andujar.

Myers should have a good path to starting on a regular basis for Reds manager Terry Fracona. In 2025, he was hitting .333/.377/.481 in 44 games played, but an injury derailed his rather productive season. If he can stay healthy, Myers should be a big factor in every facet of the game, especially when opposing teams send a southpaw to the bump.

Myers also has four years of team control remaining, something that was undoubtedly valuable to the Reds as they look to boost their production off the bench heading into next season. Though it's an unceremonious close on the all-too-brief chapter of Andujar's tenure with the Reds, there's good reason to believe Myers can fill his stead and then some in 2026 and beyond.