Terry Francona Makes Eye Opening Admission About Reds Offense

Cincinnati's offense has been bad for most of the season.

May 30, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) walks off the field during a pitching change in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Reds’ offense has been among the worst in baseball this season, and the numbers paint a pretty ugly picture. Cincinnati ranks last in batting average (.227), hits per game (7.53) and strikeouts per game (9.52). The Reds are also 25th in runs per game (4.07) and 27th in RBIs per game (3.89). They’ve been able to hit for power, ranking sixth in baseball with 1.30 home runs per game, but consistently generating offense has been a major problem.

Ahead of Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Reds manager Terry Francona made an eye-opening admission about the offense.

“Truthfully, I’d prefer him (Elly De La Cruz) not to be (hitting leadoff),” Francona told Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard. “I’m not taking a shot at him. He can hit anywhere he wants. He’s good. I don’t know that right now we have a guy who we feel like could do that every day. When him and Sal (Stewart) don’t get hits, it gets pretty glaring for us. That’s a big load for them. Not altogether fair.”

While I don't necessarily agree with not wanting De La Cruz to hit leadoff, Francona is spot on when it comes to Stewart and De La Cruz's production. When that duo is not hitting, the offense goes flat. De La Cruz is 24 and Stewart is still just 22. Asking those two to carry your offense for 162 games is a heavy burden that probably isn't fair.

Not Enough Production

Cincinnati Reds right fielder Noelvi Marte (4) scores on an RBI single by catcher Jose Trevino (35) in the second inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Athletics at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 The game was tied 1-1 after three innings. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Reds were counting on players like Noelvi Marte, Matt McLain, TJ Friedl, and Will Benson to be average-to-good offensive players. None of them have been anywhere close to that.

Marte is hitting .189 with an OPS of .555 and was just sent down to Triple-A Louisville for the second time this season. His defense also has not improved.

McLain has shown flashes of life offensively, but has not been consistent. He's hitting just .194 with an OPS of .638, which is worse than last season.

TJ Friedl is having the worst season of his career and is barely seeing the field. He is hitting .158 with an OPS of .479 and has not had a hit since the All-Star break.

Will Benson has been in Louisville since the end of June. In 51 games with the Reds, he hit just .188 with an OPS of .643.

The young core the Reds were counting on has all regressed in a big way, outside of De La Cruz and possibly Spencer Steer, who is on the injured list and could miss the rest of the season.

The Reds have plenty of holes to fill this offseason, and if they want to take a meaningful step forward in 2027, they’ll likely have to look outside the organization to address them.