Beyond his surging bat, the catcher has a unique ace up his sleeve ready to help a contender.
For years, Tyler Stephenson's reputation has been tied almost entirely to what he could provide offensively.
That made sense. Catchers who hit have always been difficult to find, and Stephenson built much of his career around being one of the more productive bats at the position when healthy.
Now, as the Cincinnati Reds continue weighing deadline offers, the conversation around Stephenson seems to be changing.
Teams may be valuing him just as much for everything happening behind the plate.
Trade speculation surrounding Stephenson has intensified over the past week, with the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and several other contenders linked to Cincinnati's veteran catcher. On the surface, those connections are easy to explain. The market for catching help has become increasingly thin, especially with uncertainty surrounding several bigger names.
But Stephenson's value extends beyond the traditional numbers.
According to Baseball Savant, he has quietly become one of baseball's most effective catchers when using MLB's ABS challenge system. Stephenson has challenged 95 pitches this season, the second-highest total among major league catchers, and has won 72 percent of those reviews. Only a handful of catchers have generated more value through the system.
In a season where every team is still adjusting to the new challenge rules, that isn't a small detail. It's another way a catcher can influence games.
Stephenson's defensive profile doesn't stop there. He also graded among the league's best at blocking pitches with 11 blocked pitches above average, the best mark in baseball. Those numbers help paint a different picture than the one created by his overall offensive line.
The bat, meanwhile, has quietly started coming around. Stephenson's full-season numbers remain modest, but much of the underlying data suggests better production than the results indicate. He ranks well above league average in several quality-of-contact metrics, including barrel rate, hard-hit percentage, average exit velocity and expected slugging percentage.
Since June 1, Stephenson has hit .314 with a .377 on-base percentage and a .485 slugging percentage. His July numbers have been even stronger, giving contenders reason to believe they're acquiring a hitter trending upward rather than one simply trying to survive the season.
That's part of why the Yankees continue surfacing in trade discussions.
According to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, New York remains one of the most logical fits given its need behind the plate, even if Ryan Jeffers remains a preferred target. The White Sox could be another potential landing spot following Kyle Teel's injury, as reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Stephenson has also been connected to the Dodgers, Rays, Rangers and Red Sox.
Whether Cincinnati ultimately moves Stephenson remains the biggest question.
With Elly De La Cruz firmly off the trade block, Stephenson becomes one of the organization's most valuable trade chips after Hunter Greene.
Not simply because he plays catcher, but because the version of Tyler Stephenson teams are evaluating today offers considerably more than the stat line many fans will notice first.
