You think there might be a new closer for the Cincinnati Reds this season
Could someone other than Emilio Pagán lead the Reds in saves?
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MARCH 29: Pitcher Emilio Pagán #15 of the Cincinnati Reds throws during a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on March 29, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images Asking concrete questions during the first full week of the 162-game slate is always a bit perilous. For instance, had I asked you before Friday’s series opener against the Texas Rangers whether or not Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson should be losing playing time due to their struggles, my best guess is that many of you would’ve responded with a resounding yes .
Those two just combined to go 4 for 8 with 3 runs scored, 4 ribbies, and a pair of 2-run homers to lead the Reds past Texas in impressive fashion in the team’s first road game of the season. If I asked whether the two of them deserved to lose playing time right now , you’d tell me I was ridiculous. Such is the case, potentially, with the closer’s role for the Cincinnati Reds.
After taking the job and running with it last year, Emilio Pagán was brought back in free agency to take the 9th inning role once again, but his first week of the 2026 season was rather brutal. Pagán was hammered for a pair of homers and 5 ER in 3. 1 IP across his first 3 appearances of the season.
He blew a save in his first chance of the year against the Boston Red Sox (in a game the Reds ultimately won), and he later watched as Connor Phillips – who’s much younger with a much more electric arm – get a save when he was unavailable for the day after having thrown so many pitches earlier in the week. It just so happens that I asked you whether Pagán, or someone else, would lead the Reds in saves in 2026 right after he was slugged around for a homer and 4 ER in an IP against Pittsburgh in a game the Reds lost 8-3. Even though that came in a non-save situation, it was a pretty rough time for an evaluation of his job title to come down, but that’s just how the timing of the situation went.