Cincinnati Reds' Sal Stewart Earns NL Rookie of the Year Honors

It was a disappointing season overall for the Cincinnati Reds, who entered the year with high hopes after making the postseason with a young roster last year. Led by veteran manager Terry Francona, the Reds were looking to take a step forward after earning the third and final Wild Card spot last season, but ultimately being eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round.

That did not occur, as Cincinnati finished last in the National League Central with a 75-87 record, but it still wasn’t all bad for Ohio’s National League team.

One of the real bright spots was rookie Sal Stewart, who built on his strong 18-game stretch to round out 2025, where he posted an .839 OPS in 58 plate appearances, by appearing in all 162 games in his full rookie season in 2026.

In those games, Stewart tallied an even 700 plate appearances, slugging 32 home runs, driving in 112 runs, and posting a very strong 117 OPS+.

That performance earned him National League Rookie of the Year honors on Monday, which added some hardware to a season that also earned Stewart his first All-Star appearance.

Between Stewart, Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene and other young players in Cincinnati’s core, there is reason to believe the Reds are building something special.

How this offseason plays out is the big question, because Cincinnati is among the teams who could potentially be forced to add payroll in order to reach the proposed payroll floor that has been floated around in these early CBA negotiations, which would add even more talent to a group that is on the ascent.

The Reds were 20th in payroll last season, with a $128 million figure, which is more than $200 million less than where the Dodgers were at.

Obviously, nobody’s expecting an Ohio team to compete with LA or New York in payroll, but closing that gap is what the CBA negotiations have primarily been about, and the Reds would be a team that stood to benefit if it ends up going that way.

For now, Cincinnati fans have a lot to be excited about in Stewart, who does have a long way to go defensively, grading out as one of the league’s poorer defenders last season, but the bat absolutely plays and that earned him a big-time honor in Rookie of the Year.

Year three could be a big one for he and the Reds.