Andrew WrightThu, December 4, 2025 at 12:17 AM UTC·1 min readReport: Reds ink two-year deal to bring back trusted reliever originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Headed into the 2025 MLB season, the Cincinnati Reds were thought of as a threat to win the National League Central.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCincinnati came up short of a division championship, but it did reach the postseason for just the second time since 2020. A major factor in that was an extremely solid Reds' bullpen and a major piece of that puzzle will reportedly be back in Cincinnati.
According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, Cincinnati and right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan are in agreement on a two-year deal. The deal is reportedly worth $20 million and will keep Pagan with the team he's spent the previous two seasons with.
Pagan struggled a bit in 2024, posting a 4.50 ERA across 38 appearances. Last season, though, produced much better results. In 70 appearances, Pagan posted a 2.88 ERA with 81 strikeouts and a career high 32 saves. It was easily the best season of Pagan's career since the 2019 season when he posted a career best 2.31 ERA.
He'll now return to a Reds bullpen that was fourth in MLB last season with 1.4 Wins Above Average. In a division with the high-powered offenses of the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, excellent bullpen innings from Pagan and others will be important for Cincinnati to secure its first NL Central crown since 2012.
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