Terry Francona has voiced his frustration over the public revelation of the Reds’ waiver activities.
Recently, the Cincinnati Reds placed veteran third baseman Eugenio Suarez and outfielder TJ Friedl on outright waivers, allowing 29 other MLB franchises a 48-hour window to claim these players and take on their salaries.
As predicted by insiders, neither Suarez nor Friedl was claimed, and they subsequently remained on the Reds’ roster as the team headed into their Chicago series.
Francona is notably upset that details of a typically confidential process were leaked to the media.
“Those who fail to keep these matters confidential ought to be ashamed,” Francona reportedly stated via journalist Charlie Goldsmith. “If you’re a leader in any organization, you have the responsibility to maintain that confidentiality. When that responsibility is ignored, it makes me really angry.”
Suarez is still owed about $3 million on his one-year, $15 million contract signed this offseason. He has a mutual option for 2027, though it’s unlikely to be picked up.
“I’ve got nothing to say about it,” Suárez said. “It’s not part of my job. Whatever they decide to do, it’s their business. My business is to play baseball.”
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Suarez, who has spent the majority of his career in Cincinnati, is in the middle of a career-worst season, during which he has a .705 OPS along with 19 home runs while serving as the team’s primary designated hitter.
The slugger was the Reds’ big-ticket free agent this offseason after whiffing at signing hometown darling Kyle Schwarber, who went to the Phillies.
Friedl, on the other hand, has split his time between Triple-A and the bigs this year after being a mainstay in the Reds’ 2025 lineup. He has a .476 OPS in 76 games and will make roughly $700,000 the rest of the season.
Both players generated little interest at the trade deadline, and neither is expected to stay with the Reds beyond 2026.
Francona is in his second season at the helm for the Reds and his 25th overall as a manager. Last season, he became the 13th manager to reach the 2,000-win threshold and sits at 11th on the all-time list with 2,096.
He’s the winningest active manager, with more than double the wins of A.J. Hinch and Dave Roberts, the only other active managers with over 1,000 victories.
With one more season on his Reds contract and a club option in 2028, he’ll be chasing Joe McCarthy (2,125 wins) to crack the top 10 to end what is surely a Hall of Fame managerial career.