The Reds shuffled their roster on Tuesday, and the headline move is Michael Toglia officially joining the big-league club. Cincinnati selected the 27-year-old first baseman/outfielder's contract from Triple-A Louisville, giving a lineup that's needed thump at first base another look.
Toglia's path here isn't glamorous. Colorado non-tendered him last November after he struggled to a.190 average with a 39.2% strikeout rate in 2025, and he landed on a minor league deal with Cincinnati back in January. He rebuilt his stock in Louisville this year, slashing.273/.373/.547 with 22 home runs in just 402 plate appearances — the kind of power output that got him drafted 14th overall by Colorado back in 2019 out of UCLA.
There's a wrinkle here that raises the stakes for Cincinnati: Toglia is out of options, meaning the Reds can't just stash him back in the minors if things go sideways. He either sticks on the active roster or gets designated for assignment. That's a real bet on a switch-hitter who's had big raw power but also a strikeout problem in the majors — 35% for his career.
Toglia wasn't the only addition Tuesday. Left-hander Nick Lodolo was activated off the 15-day IL after missing about a month with a blister issue on his pitching hand. He'd been pitching well before the injury, running a 1.35 ERA across his last 4 starts, so getting him back is a legitimate boost for a rotation that's been banged up.
That rotation news comes with a gut punch, though. To open a 40-man roster spot, the Reds transferred Hunter Greene from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL — official confirmation that Greene needs UCL surgery and is done for the season, likely to miss most or all of 2027 as well. Losing a pitcher of Greene's caliber for that long is a significant hit no matter how the rest of the roster shakes out.
To make it all fit, Cincinnati optioned right-hander Zach McCambley and infielder/outfielder Ivan Johnson back to Triple-A. It's a lot of moving parts for one afternoon, but the through-line is clear: the Reds are betting a reclamation project at first base and a healthy Lodolo can offset the loss of one of their best arms down the stretch.