TJ Friedl elects free agency and officially ends a Reds' run that exceeded expectations

TJ Friedl endured a turbulent last month of a difficult season. Friedl went unclaimed during the final week of August after the Cincinnati Reds placed him on outright waivers. He was then optioned to the minor leagues and eventually designated for assignment. Friedl accepted the assignment, but on Tuesday, officially ended his tenure in the Reds organization after electing free agency.

Friedl's 2026 season was one to forget. After landing a $3.8 million pay day in Year 1 of arbitration, he went on to post the worst numbers of his career. Friedl hit just .172/.255/.255 with four home runs, 13 RBI, five stolen bases, and a 43 wRC+.

Friedl's -0.7 fWAR was even worse than his introduction to the big leagues in 2021 (0.1 fWAR) when he only appeared in 14 games. He set a career high with a 23.2% strikeout rate, and a career worst in almost every offensive category.

TJ Friedl's skillset didn't match the Reds' philosophy in 2026

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly where things went wrong for Friedl in 2026. After all, he was coming off a career-year in 2025 when he hit .261/.364/.378 with 14 homers, 53 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a 112 wRC+. He quickly emerged as the table-setter for Terry Francona's lineup and led Major League Baseball with 11 bunt base hits. That number dipped to six this past season — all of which came in April and May.

A quick peak at Friedl's Baseball Savant page shows a dramatic increase in chase rate, whiff rate, and strikeout rate. His walk rate also dropped from 11.8% in 2025 to 8.1% in 2026. His bat speed actually saw an uptick from 69.9 mph in 2025 to 71 mph in 2026.

All of those numbers seem to suggest that Friedl turned away from what got him to the big leagues in the first place. He began selling out for power, and lost key components of what made his game work (plate discipline, contact rate, etc.). This coincided with the product we saw from several Reds players in 2026. As a team, Cincinnati saw an increase in strikeout rate (23.3% to 25.5%) and power (.146 ISO to .165 ISO).

In short, the Reds' hitting philosophy in 2026 didn't link up with Friedl's skillset. His greatest asset was always getting on base and disrupting the defense with bunts and above-average base running. None of that was part of his game this past season.

Friedl went undrafted in 2016 and got the most out of his abilities. He's the type of player that fans in Cincinnati love to root for, and frankly, it's sad to his Reds' career end the way it did. He was the heart and soul of the 2025 group that returned to the postseason for the first time since 2020, and it's quite likely that most fans will look back fondly on his time in a Reds uniform.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow