Despite 8 Straight Losses, Terry Francona Not Ready to Make Changes to Lineup

The Reds have yet to win a game in May.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) adjusts his hat after the third out of the Reds half of the seventh inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, May 8, 2026. The Reds lost the series opener, 10-0. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the main reasons players have always loved playing for Terry Francona is his loyalty. Despite losing 10-0 to the Astros on Friday, which was their eighth straight loss, Francona told the media he's not so sure he's ready to make changes to the lineup.

“I’ve thought about a lot of those things,” Francona told Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard. “I’ll do what I think makes sense. I won’t do what I don’t think makes sense. If we don’t have guys hitting and you start playing lineup bingo, there has to be a reason to do something.”

While a part of you has to admire Francona's loyalty to his players, the other part of you has to wonder what it will take to make changes.

TJ Friedl has batted leadoff for the Reds in every game he's played this season. He's hitting .188 with an OPS of .543. It doesn't matter how you spin it, that simply isn't good enough and it could be debated if Friedl should even be playing as much as he is, let alone hitting leadoff every night.

While some fans feel like this team isn't showing fight, Francona doesn't feel that way.

“I don't ever think our guys don't compete,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I never feel that way. It's not going the way we want to right now, that's for sure. But this is when me and the coaches [have] to be there for them. We're going to go through this with them. This is always going to be us.

Reds Getting Nothing From Bottom of the Order

May 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Ke'bryan Hayes (3) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Reds are getting no offense from the bottom three spots of the order. Tyler Stephenson has been playing better lately, but he's still hitting just .189 this season with an OPS of .586. His advanced stats show he's been a bit unlucky, but he needs to start producing.

Matt McLain is hitting .204 with an OPS of .624. Last year, most fans were willing to look past his struggles and accept how hard it is to come back from major shoulder surgery. However, after a huge Spring Training, McLain's offensive struggles are back. The Reds need more production from him or they should look at replacing him.

When the Reds traded for Ke'Bryan Hayes at the deadline last season, they thought they would be able to get more out of him than the Pirates did offensively. That hasn't been the case. In fact, he's been much worse, hitting just .134 with an OPS of .419.

Despite how good he is defensively, it feels like a poor decision to keep running Hayes out there 5-6 days a week with how much he's struggling at the plate.

After the game, Hayes was asked about the fans booing the team.

“If we don’t want to hear boos, we’ve got to be better," Hayes said. We’ve got to win games.”

While Tito doesn't want to play 'lineup bingo," it's time to make changes.