If you’re looking for a clean, boring sign that the Cincinnati Reds are trying to do 2026 the smart way, start with this: they got Nick Lodolo done for $4.725 million and kept him out of an arbitration room. That number is the entire point.
On the same day the Reds agreed to a much louder $12.75 million salary with Brady Singer, Lodolo’s deal landed like a stealth discount that actually matters for a roster trying to thread the needle between young and exciting and good enough to jolt the fanbase with a deep playoff run.