The Cincinnati Reds have officially released infielder Jeimer Candelario after he cleared waivers following his designation for assignment on June 23, which came shortly after he was activated from the 10-day injured list. With the release, he is no longer part of the organization.
Candelario joined the Reds ahead of the 2024 season on a three-year contract that included a club option for a fourth. In his first year, he displayed solid power with 20 home runs, 23 doubles, and two triples over 112 games, but struggled in other areas—batting just .225 with a .279 on-base percentage.
Both the Reds and Candelario had hoped for a bounce-back season in 2025, but things went in the opposite direction. In April, he posted a .113/.198/.213 slash line and struck out 29 times before being sidelined with a lumbar spine strain. He missed over a month of action and, during his rehab stint with the Arizona Complex League Reds and Triple-A Louisville Bats, continued to struggle—managing just a .651 OPS with 19 strikeouts in 15 games.
With his rehab window closing and no signs of improvement, the Reds opted to cut ties despite still being on the hook for \$16 million in 2025, \$13 million in 2026, and a \$3 million buyout for the 2027 club option.
