In the hierarchy of what the Cincinnati Reds are looking for in a lineup upgrade, the following traits (in order of importance) are what they are looking for: pop, left-handed, acceptable or better defense. The issue is, the more a player excels at these skills, the more expensive he'll be. For a cash-strapped team like the Reds, that becomes a problem.
Still, if Cincinnati goes into 2026 with the same lineup that finished 2025, it will all but guarantee the upstart squad takes a step back. The National League is too competitive to simply count on internal improvements and player development to lead the club back to the postseason.