Terry Francona's remarks will leave Reds fans guessing about Tony Santillan's role

Terry Francona didn’t come to the Cincinnati Reds to babysit a feel-good rebuild — he came to stack wins. And his first public hints about the Reds’ 2026 bullpen didn’t sound like celebration notes; they sounded like a to-do list. When a manager with his résumé says, “We’ve got to re-do our bullpen a bit,” that’s not throwaway noise — it’s a warning shot to every arm on the depth chart. 

The 2025 group did a lot right, from Emilio Pagán’s career year to Connor Phillips’ electric flashes, but Francona’s tone made one thing clear: nobody should assume their role is safe, and the ninth inning is very much back up for grabs.

Layer that on top of where this organization is in its cycle, and you understand why Reds fans are already squinting toward the late innings of 2026. The front office has nudged into a competitive window with a young core, but they’ve also watched enough one-run games slip to know that “good enough” relief work doesn’t cut it for a team with postseason expectations. 

Terry Francona’s bullpen warning shot keeps Tony Santillan’s Reds future wide open

Francona and president of baseball operations Nick Krall have both framed the winter as an opportunity to retool the pen. No promises, no anointing, just a firm acknowledgment that the current mix needs more swing-and-miss, more stability, and at least one trusted left-handed option. And sitting right in the middle of that uncertainty is Tony Santillan.

Santillan is the name that keeps circling the conversation, because he already did so much of the heavy lifting in 2025. Used primarily in high-leverage, set-up situations, he flashed the kind of presence you want near the back end. Locking in with a 2.44 ERA on the season and a WHIP hovering near “don’t mess with this.” 

That’s the profile of someone you can envision jogging in to close with fireworks crackling. But Francona’s remarks didn’t crown him. Instead, they framed Santillan as what he is right now: a strong internal candidate, not a finished product. His track record of health, consistency from month to month, and ability to handle the grind of full-time closing duty still have to be proven.

Then there’s Connor Phillips, the wild card whose upside is impossible to ignore. Francona singled him out: “burst onto the scene and looks like he might be exciting” — and he wasn’t wrong. In a limited sample, Phillips brought strikeout stuff and the kind of fearless tempo that plays in big moments, with a 2.88 ERA and 0.92 WHIP hinting at something serious if it holds. 

However, it was only 25 innings, and his minor league résumé still carries the red flag of command issues. Handing him the ninth in April and hoping it sticks would be the kind of gamble this staff just told you they’re not eager to make. For now, Phillips profiles more like a weapon you deploy strategically.

Hovering over all of this is Emilio Pagán, the known quantity who just delivered the exact season contenders pay for: 32 saves, reliability, and enough late-inning poise to stabilize everything around him. He’s also now a free agent. He’s expressed interest in returning, and on pure merit he’s the most straightforward answer to the “who closes?” question. But “straightforward” is not the same thing as “automatic.” Bringing Pagán back will require a real financial decision from a team that still has broader roster needs, and Francona’s “re-do our bullpen a bit” comment leaves the door open for a different veteran, a creative trade, or a full reshuffle of leverage roles if the market breaks a certain way.

So no, Francona didn’t tip his hand, and that’s exactly the point. His remarks weren’t about handing out job titles on a November soundbite; they were about setting a standard. The Reds’ 2026 closer might be Pagán on a new deal, Santillan graduating from enforcer to finisher, Phillips fast-tracked into stardom, or an outsider who hasn’t even been linked yet. What fans can take from Francona’s early messaging is that the organization sees the back end as a competitive priority, not a placeholder.