Spring training struggles leaves Reds slugger stuck in limbo

Christian Encarnacion-Strand has historically been one of the Cincinnati Reds best bats during spring training. He had Reds fans clamoring for him to make the Opening Day in 2023 after hitting .577 with a 1.748 OPS and four home runs in 12 Cactus League games. He posted a 1.166 OPS in 2024 and a respectable .899 OPS last spring.

But the slugger has struggled out of the gates this year. Through his first four spring games, Encarnacion-Strand is just 3-for-9 and all three of his base hits have been singles. He combined for 12 home runs the past three years in Arizona, but he's come up empty so far in 2026.

Reds slugger Christian Encarnacion-Strand is in no-man's land

To make matters worse for Encarnacion-Strand, he's lost his starting spot at first base. Poor performance and injury led the Reds to make a change at the cold corner last season, and Spencer Steer played so well that he was a finalist for the Rawling's Gold Glove Award.

But even Steer is being (sort of) pushed out this season. Rookie infielder Sal Stewart seems primed to take over at first base, and Steer is likely to take on the role of a super utility player in 2026. The Reds are also expected to add Nathaniel Lowe to the Opening Day roster and even Eugenio Suárez is trying his hand at first base.

Cincinnati has given Encarnacion-Strand reps at third base — a position he played earlier in his career — but he's struggled to adjust during the early going. The Reds also have a bottleneck at that position too, with Suárez and Gold Glove defender Ke'Bryan Hayes expected to share duties at the hot corner this season.

In short, Encarnacion-Strand has nowhere to play and ins't performing well enough to generate any trade interest. All signs point to the slugger beginning the year at Triple-A Louisville, and place he spent the majority of his time in 2025.

There was pure excitement surrounding Encarnacion-Strand during his rookie season, but he's failed to meet the moment ever since. It would seem that Cincinnati isn't ready to give up on the 26-year-old just yet, but he's got a lot of hurdles to clear if he hopes to find a permanent spot on the active roster.