{"id":109331,"date":"2025-11-11T00:36:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T05:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=109331"},"modified":"2025-11-11T00:36:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T05:36:35","slug":"should-reds-move-on-from-spencer-steer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/11\/11\/should-reds-move-on-from-spencer-steer\/","title":{"rendered":"Reds Have a Tough Call on Maintaining or Trading Utilityman"},"content":{"rendered":"

For three seasons now (excluding 28 games in 2022), Spencer Steer has been consistently penciled into the Cincinnati Reds<\/a> lineup. With him set to make $4 million in 2026 in his first year of arbitration, some questions have arisen regarding his future with the team.<\/p>\n

On one hand, he has been solid and will be an affordable player for the next three seasons. On the other hand, he may be clogging some of Cincinnati\u2019s promising prospects brewing in their system.<\/p>\n

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Sep 25, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds first baseman Spencer Steer (7) prepares for the pitch in the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spencer Steer Entering First Arbitration Year with Reds<\/h2>\n

Availability is the Best Ability<\/h3>\n

Spencer Steer might be your uncle’s favorite solely due to his ability to stay on the field. The age-old adage that availability is the best ability certainly applies to Steer.<\/p>\n

2023: 156 games played<\/p>\n

2024: 158 games played<\/p>\n

2025: 146 games played<\/p>\n

Even in 2025, he battled through nagging injuries during the early stages of the season but pushed through them regardless. Despite it hindering his performance at times, he has made it a mission throughout his career to gut through minor issues and lace up the cleats.<\/p>\n

Steer\u2019s 2023 Breakout<\/h3>\n

2023 saw one of the most fun Reds teams in a while. Despite missing the postseason, there were plenty of moments to remember, and Spencer Steer was involved in many of them.<\/p>\n

After getting a cup of coffee in 2022 with a 28-game stint in the big leagues, Steer<\/a> went off in 2023, posting an .820 OPS and a 117 OPS+ in 156 games. He hit 23 home runs and even tacked on 15 stolen bases, as he was an all-around solid player.<\/p>\n

This production culminated in a 2.9 bWAR season. It was a very solid year for the then 25-year-old Steer, and he seemed like a perfect candidate to slot into the everyday first baseman role following Reds legend Joey Votto<\/a>\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n

Steer\u2019s 2024 Season<\/h3>\n

Heading into 2024, fans were excited to see if the Reds had their running mate next to Elly De La Cruz<\/a> and Matt McLain<\/a> for the near future. In some ways, Steer had a great season. He joined the 20-20 club with 20 home runs and 25 stolen bases and was about league average defensively overall with a -2 OAA.<\/p>\n

However, his OPS dropped by nearly 100 points as he had a .721 OPS. In fact, he was overall a slightly below-average hitter that year, posting a 96 OPS+.<\/p>\n

It was a disappointing year for both Steer and the Reds, but it wasn\u2019t as surprising as it seemed. His metrics from 2023 may have suggested that his 2023 breakout was a product of luck.<\/p>\n

Here are his metrics in 2023 and 2024:<\/p>\n

xBA<\/strong><\/p>\n

2023 – .252<\/p>\n

2024 – .235<\/p>\n

xSLG<\/strong><\/p>\n

2023 – .417<\/p>\n

2024 – .379<\/p>\n

Avg Exit Velocity<\/strong><\/p>\n

2023 – 88.7 MPH<\/p>\n

2024 – 88.0 MPH<\/p>\n

Hard-Hit%<\/strong><\/p>\n

2023 – 37.1<\/p>\n

2024 – 39.9<\/p>\n

As shown, the 2024 metrics were down a bit, but by a negligible difference. It seemed like he plateaued to the player that he was in 2024, and that his true form is a low to mid-.700s OPS guy rather than a low to mid-.800s OPS guy.<\/p>\n

However, one season is not necessarily enough of a sample size to write off a player\u2019s entire future. 2025 seemed like an important year for him and the organization to see which version of him is closer to his true form.<\/p>\n

If anything, a defensively sound first baseman with the ability to handle occasional outfield workload, all while having some semblance of power and speed threat, is a solid piece on a team.<\/p>\n

A Decision-Filled 2025 Season Outcome<\/h3>\n

In comes the 2025 season, where the problems began to arise. It wasn\u2019t like Steer played badly. In fact, he had himself another solid season, albeit short of the level he reached in 2023. He posted a .723 OPS and slugged 21 home runs. He was less effective on the base paths due to multiple nagging injuries and was limited to just seven stolen bases.<\/p>\n

Despite all of this, he was still below average offensively with a 94 OPS+, and he was worth just 0.7 bWAR, the least in his career so far.<\/p>\n

Again, the problem isn\u2019t that Spencer Steer was bad. He was around league average and had multiple clutch moments. The problem is that a roughly league-average bat at first base is not good enough for a Reds team that struggles to score runs. Another problem, and perhaps the biggest one, is the looming presence of top prospect Sal Stewart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Three home runs in two games… CLUTCH.@spenc__er<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/B00Lxiu9Ib<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n