An Era Nears Its End: Reds Waive Suárez and Friedl, Opening Door for Young Core

The Cincinnati Reds appear ready to turn the page on two players who have played significant roles in the franchise’s recent history.

Late Wednesday night, reports surfaced that Cincinnati had placed Eugenio Suárez and TJ Friedl on waivers, giving the other 29 clubs an opportunity to claim either player as the Reds enter the final month of a disappointing 2026 season. The distinction is important: neither player has officially been designated for assignment, and both remain members of the organization while the waiver process plays out. Still, the message behind the moves is difficult to ignore. Cincinnati appears ready to use September to evaluate younger pieces that could play a role in 2027 and beyond.

The timing was particularly striking for Suárez. Just hours before the news broke, the veteran third baseman delivered a grand slam during Cincinnati's remarkable seven-run ninth inning in San Francisco, helping the Reds erase a 9-3 deficit and escape with a 10-9 victory. It could ultimately prove to be one of the final swings of his second stint in Cincinnati.

Eugenio Suárez's Place in Reds History

Regardless of how his latest tenure ends, Suárez deserves to be remembered as one of Cincinnati's most productive hitters of the past decade.

Originally acquired from Detroit before the 2015 season, Suárez gradually developed from a promising young infielder into one of baseball's premier power hitters. His breakout came in 2018, when he hit .283 with 34 home runs and 104 RBI while earning his first All-Star selection. He followed that performance with an even bigger 2019, blasting 49 home runs — one of the highest single-season totals in franchise history — while posting a .930 OPS and driving in 103 runs.

Those peak seasons made Suárez one of the faces of a Reds team attempting to transition out of a lengthy rebuild. His infectious personality, durability and unmistakable power made him a fan favorite even as his offensive production became more volatile later in his first Cincinnati tenure.

After being traded to Seattle following the 2021 season, Suárez rebuilt his value and eventually produced one of the best power seasons of his career in 2025, hitting 49 home runs between Arizona and Seattle. That resurgence prompted Cincinnati to bring him home on a one-year deal before the 2026 season, hoping he could provide much-needed right-handed power to a lineup with postseason aspirations.

The reunion never quite produced the storybook ending many hoped for.

Suárez has continued to supply home-run power, reaching 19 homers and 57 RBI this season, but his overall offensive production has fallen considerably. Through August 26, he was hitting just .208/.295/.410, good for a .705 OPS, while accumulating negative WAR. The power remained useful, but it was no longer enough to offset the strikeouts, limited defensive value and inconsistent production surrounding those home runs.

For a club falling out of contention, continuing to devote regular plate appearances to a 35-year-old veteran on an expiring contract became increasingly difficult to justify.

If this is the end for Suárez in Cincinnati, however, his 2026 struggles should not overshadow his larger contribution. Across his two stints with the organization, he provided some of the biggest power seasons by a Reds hitter in the modern era and became one of the most recognizable players of an otherwise difficult period in franchise history.

TJ Friedl's Rise — and Sudden Decline

Friedl's potential departure carries a different type of significance.

Unlike Suárez, Friedl was never expected to become a star when Cincinnati signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada. He instead developed into one of the organization's better player-development success stories.

By 2023, Friedl had established himself as Cincinnati's everyday center fielder and leadoff hitter. That season remains the high point of his Reds career: a .279/.352/.467 slash line, 18 home runs, eight triples, 27 stolen bases and 3.6 WAR over 138 games. His combination of speed, defense, contact ability and occasional power made him an ideal complementary player for the young roster beginning to form around Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain.

After injuries disrupted his 2024 season, Friedl rebounded in 2025 and reached base at a .364 clip across 152 games. Even without significant power, his plate discipline and ability to handle center field made him a valuable part of the lineup.

That version of Friedl has disappeared in 2026.

Through 74 major-league games, Friedl has hit only .160/.245/.237 with three home runs and 11 RBI, producing a .482 OPS and roughly one win below replacement level. Cincinnati already sent him to Triple-A once this season before recalling him in late June, but the offensive struggles continued after his return.

His time in Louisville showed that there may still be productive baseball left in him. Friedl hit .271 with a .370 on-base percentage and .841 OPS during his Triple-A stint. But with Cincinnati's season slipping away and several younger outfielders demanding opportunities, the organization now has considerably less incentive to keep searching for the 2023 version of Friedl at the major-league level.

Héctor Rodriguez Should Be the Biggest Beneficiary

The clearest beneficiary should be Héctor Rodriguez.

Rodriguez forced Cincinnati's hand with an outstanding season in Triple-A, hitting .274 with 27 home runs and an .880 OPS before making his major-league debut on August 4. At only 22 years old, he has already flashed the aggressive approach and surprising power that made him one of the most intriguing hitters in the Reds system.

His two-homer performance Wednesday in San Francisco provided perhaps the clearest example yet of why the Reds need to find out what they have. Rodriguez homered early and again during the ninth-inning comeback, finishing with three hits in Cincinnati's 10-9 victory.

More importantly, Friedl's potential departure should remove one of the obstacles preventing Rodriguez from playing every day.

At this point, Cincinnati shouldn't be overly concerned about protecting Rodriguez against difficult left-handed matchups or rotating him in and out of the lineup. The remainder of the season should be viewed as an extended evaluation period. Let him face lefties. Let him make adjustments after pitchers begin attacking his weaknesses. Let him experience prolonged slumps rather than immediately heading to the bench.

The Reds already know what Friedl is capable of when healthy and productive. They don't yet know whether Rodriguez can become an everyday major-league outfielder.

September should help answer that question.

Is Another Edwin Arroyo Promotion Coming?

Edwin Arroyo is another obvious player to watch.

Arroyo's first taste of the majors earlier this season was uneven. In 131 at-bats, he hit .244 but failed to homer and finished with just a .568 OPS. Sending him back to Louisville was understandable.

What he has done around that major-league stint makes another opportunity increasingly difficult to ignore.

Arroyo has hit .309 with 15 home runs and a .924 OPS in Triple-A this year, production that represents a significant offensive step forward for a player long regarded primarily for his defense, athleticism and switch-hitting ability.

With Suárez potentially exiting the picture, Cincinnati has greater flexibility to rotate players through the infield and designated hitter spots. Arroyo doesn't need to directly replace Suárez position-for-position for the move to create an opportunity. The Reds could move pieces around the diamond, give veterans more days off and allow Arroyo to receive regular at-bats alongside De La Cruz and McLain.

His first stint showed that Triple-A production doesn't automatically translate against major-league pitching. A second stint would give Cincinnati valuable information regarding how close he is to becoming a permanent member of the lineup.

September Could Bring Several More Debuts

The Reds' September roster will only expand from 26 players to 28, so Cincinnati won't be able to summon every intriguing prospect in Louisville. Still, these moves make it increasingly likely that the final month will feature some younger faces.

Jay Allen II has earned consideration after arguably the best season of his professional career. Across the minors this year, the former first-round pick has hit .270 with 15 home runs, 18 stolen bases and an .821 OPS. Most of that damage came at Double-A Chattanooga before a recent promotion to Louisville, where he has encountered his first real struggles at the Triple-A level.

That small Triple-A sample could convince Cincinnati to leave him there, but a September cameo would still have value. Allen brings athleticism, speed and defensive versatility to an outfield that suddenly has available playing time.

Leo Balcazar is another name worth monitoring. Cincinnati added him to the 40-man roster last offseason, and the 22-year-old reached Triple-A earlier this month. His overall .238 average and .684 OPS aren't overwhelming, but simply having him on the 40-man roster makes a late-season introduction more realistic than it would be for many similarly inexperienced prospects.

Then there is Carlos Jorge, whose 2026 season has revived some of the excitement surrounding him as a prospect. Jorge has hit .313 with eight home runs, 31 stolen bases and an .807 OPS across the minors this season. His speed remains a legitimate carrying tool, and giving him a brief exposure to major-league pitching would offer Cincinnati another data point entering a critical offseason. His current stint on the seven-day minor-league injured list, however, could complicate those plans.

Not every one of these players needs to debut in September. There is still developmental value in regular Triple-A playing time, particularly for players who only recently reached Louisville. But Cincinnati should be looking for opportunities to prioritize players who could realistically impact the 2027 roster.

Turning a Disappointing Season Into an Evaluation Period

Placing Suárez and Friedl on waivers is unlikely to dramatically change the Reds' fortunes over the final month of 2026.

That isn't really the point.

Both veterans have earned appreciation for what they contributed to Cincinnati. Suárez produced some of the most memorable power-hitting seasons in recent franchise history, while Friedl developed from an undrafted free agent into a productive everyday center fielder and an important member of Cincinnati's young 2023 team.

But roster decisions cannot be made entirely on past accomplishments.

Suárez and Friedl have combined for significantly below-average production this season. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is already in Cincinnati, Arroyo continues to punish Triple-A pitching, Allen has taken a major developmental step forward, and players such as Balcazar and Jorge are approaching the doorstep of the majors.

The Reds' postseason hopes have faded. The final month can still have value.

Give Rodriguez everyday at-bats regardless of matchups. Give Arroyo another opportunity against major-league pitching. Find out whether another young player deserves a September audition. Most importantly, begin using the remaining games to answer questions about the roster Cincinnati wants to build around in 2027.

If the waiver decisions involving Eugenio Suárez and TJ Friedl represent the beginning of that transition, Wednesday night may ultimately be remembered not simply as the end of two Reds tenures, but as the moment Cincinnati finally began turning its attention toward what comes next.