THE APEX TIMES
Cincinnati declined mutual/player options for its closer, a longtime power bat, and a veteran right-handed reliever, putting three established bullpen and lineup pieces on the open market.
The Reds will begin their offseason without Emilio Pagán as their closer anchor after the club declined his $10 million player option before Monday’s deadline, making the 35-year-old a free agent.
By opting out, Cincinnati also placed third baseman Eugenio Suárez and right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson on the open market, with both players having their 2027 mutual options declined by the team.
Pagán joined Cincinnati before the 2024 season and took over the closing role in 2025. That year, he produced a career-high 32 saves while posting a 2.88 ERA across 70 appearances.
After signing a two-year, $20 million deal last winter, Pagán saw the second year structured as a $10 million player option. In 2026, he went 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 25 saves in 45 appearances before a left hamstring strain sidelined him from early May through nearly two months.
From his July 1 return onward, Pagán posted a 1.88 ERA over his final 30 games and converted 19 of 19 save opportunities, but the late-season run does not change the team’s decision to decline the option.
Suárez, 35, is ending a second Reds stint. After Cincinnati’s earlier commitment to the veteran with a one-year $15 million contract that carried a $16 million mutual option, the team chose not to keep him for 2027, and the club’s release notes frame the move as an expected one.
In 2026, Suárez hit 26 home runs over 125 games between April 23-May 22, when he missed 25 games with a left oblique strain, and finished with a.212 batting average and a.740 OPS for his second term in Cincinnati. Over his final 64 games beginning July 7, he hit 18 homers, including career homer No. 350 on Sept. 22 at Atlanta.
Johnson, 29, came to the Reds on a one-year, $5.5 million deal and logged 56 appearances with a 4.62 ERA, as the club declined his $8 million mutual option for 2027.
After 5 p.m. ET on Monday, all three players became free to negotiate with any club, and the Reds now have to address a closer’s role plus infield and bullpen depth choices as they map the rest of their offseason.