Terry Francona isn’t happy the Reds’ waiver business became public.
This week, the Reds put veteran third baseman Eugenio Suarez and outfielder TJ Friedl on outright waivers, giving 29 other teams 48 hours to claim them — and the rest of their salaries.
Both players went unclaimed (as expected, according to reports) and remained with the Reds for their next series in Chicago.
Count Francona among those miffed that a usually closed-door process was leaked to the press.
“For people that don’t keep it confidential, shame on them,” Francona said, according to reporter Charlie Goldsmith. “You’re in a spot of leadership for whatever organization. You need to respect that. When it’s not respected, it pisses me off.”
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.”
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.
