Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Encarnacion-Strand struggled to fill Joey Votto's shoes at first base in Cincinnati, slashing just .190/.220/.293 in 29 games before a fractured right wrist ended his season. When he first went down, Encarnacion-Strand was expected back in 4-to-6 weeks, but after receiving a second opinion, he opted for surgery. The Reds sent him to the Arizona Fall League for make-up at-bats, and those live reps should have given him some peace of mind and set him up for a relatively normal offseason heading into 2025. Part of the Reds' return for Tyler Mahle, Encarnacion-Strand seems to still be very much part of the organization's plans, though he won't be assured anything out of spring training. His power is off the charts, but he will likely struggle to find consistency until he refines his plate skills (28.5 K%, 3.3 BB% last season). Read Past Outlooks