Reds designate Jeimer Candelario for assignment, still owing him $22.5 million through 2026

The Cincinnati Reds announced on Monday that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been designated for assignment by the team. In doing so, the Reds will still pay the 10-year major leaguer the remaining $22.5 million he's owed on the final year and a half on his contract

Candelario, 31, was batting .113/.198/.213 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI in 91 plate appearances this season. He had just finished a minor-league rehab assignment while finishing out an injured list stint for a lumbar spine strain. Rather than add him back to the active roster, the Reds decided to cut ties with the underperforming veteran.

“At the end of the day, you have to look at it as a sunk cost because you can’t bring a player that’s not going to help his team win,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall told The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans.

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While Cincinnati isn't getting impactful production from Spencer Steer (.230/.287/.352, 6 HR) at first base or Santiago Espinal (.244/.295/.290) and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (.202/.229/.384, 5 HR) at third base, all three players are less expensive and younger. Steer and Encarnacion-Strand started at their positions for Monday's matchup with the New York Yankees.

Candelario signed a three-year, $45 million free agent deal with the Reds in December 2023 after hitting .251 with an .807 OPS and 22 home runs for the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. The $22.5 million he's owed by Cincinnati comes from the remainder of his $16 million salary for this season, next year's $13 million and a $3 million buyout from an $18 million mutual option for 2027.

The Reds have five days to explore a trade, but no MLB team will likely want to pick up that $22.5 million. Especially when Candelario wasn't hitting well on his rehab assignment, batting just .211/.318/.333 in 15 games. The same applies if a team were to claim Candelario on waivers. So he will likely become a free agent and look for a team that needs infield depth for the prorated major league minimum salary.

In his 10 MLB seasons, Candelario has batted .237/.315/.411 with 190 doubles, 110 home runs and 384 RBI with the Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Nationals and Reds.