The Cincinnati Reds showed significant progress last year in their first year with manager Terry Francona at the helm. The Reds proved to be a scrappy team that finished 3rd in the National League Central behind the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs.

The Reds finished with an 83-79 record and earned a spot in the National League playoffs. They were defeated in the Wild Card round by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Francona knows he has a team that is on the rise, and the Reds clearly have a young pitching staff that will likely be the key to their future in 2026 and beyond.  Those pitchers include Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo and Chase Burns.

Francona was a guest on the Major League Baseball Network and he told former Major League pitcher Ron Darling that he would like to see his starters go further than 5 innings in their future starts. “You try to let your pitcher grow into that,” Francona said. “I don't want to see our starters looking into the dugout after 5 innings wondering when I am going to take them out. I want them to get mad when I do come to take them out.”

Reds are moving in the right direction

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The Brewers and the Cubs have been in the top two spots in the National League Central, but it would not be a shocker if the Reds were to upstage either one or both of those teams next season.

The Reds feature shortstop Elly De La Cruz and 1st baseman Spencer Steer in the middle of their lineup. De La Cruz came through with 22 home runs and 86 runs batted in last year, while Steer added 21 homers and 75 RBI.

Greene is one of the hardest throwers in either league. He finished the season with a 7-4 record, a 2.76 earned run average and 132 strikeouts in 107.2 innings. Singer and Abbott should also be mainstays for years to come.