Chris Paddack elects free agency after Reds outrighted him following 6.04 ERA

What happened

Chris Paddack elected free agency after being outrighted by the Cincinnati Reds, per the MLB.com transaction tracker. Cincinnati had designated him for assignment earlier, and Paddack cleared waivers before the club completed the outright assignment — at which point he exercised his right to become a free agent rather than accept a minor-league assignment.

Per MLB Trade Rumors, this is the second time Paddack has cleared waivers in 2026. The first came after the Miami Marlins released him in mid-May. That earlier trip through waivers carried its own logic: any club that claimed him would have absorbed his $4MM salary, making it, as MLB Trade Rumors noted, an inevitability that he would clear. The Reds waited out that process, then signed him to a major-league contract at the league minimum.

Why it matters

The sequence here is worth tracing, because it tells a fairly complete story about where Paddack stands in the current market. He entered 2026 on a $4MM deal — a figure that made him unclaimed on waivers in May. Cincinnati picked him up at the minimum, gave him six appearances, and then designated him for assignment when the results didn't improve enough to justify the roster spot. He cleared waivers a second time, was outrighted, and elected free agency. That's the full loop.

For the Reds, the decision is straightforward to read. At 75-87 and eliminated from both the NL Central race and the Wild Card race, Cincinnati is not a club optimizing for October. Roster decisions at this stage of the season are about development, depth evaluation, and clearing space for players who factor into future plans. Paddack, posting a 6.04 ERA across 22 1/3 innings in red, did not make that case.

The numbers

Paddack's stint with Cincinnati covered six appearances — three starts and three relief outings, per MLB Trade Rumors. He posted a 6.04 ERA through 22 1/3 innings. That represented a modest improvement over his time with Miami, where he had surrendered nearly eight earned runs per nine innings, per MLB Trade Rumors. The combined ERA across both stops in 2026 sits at 6.96, per MLB Trade Rumors.

The arc from starter to bullpen within a single short-term stint is its own data point. Cincinnati gave him three turns in the rotation before shifting him to relief, which suggests the club was actively searching for a role that might unlock something more useful. It did not find one.

Where the club stands

The Reds are 75-87 (.463), sitting fifth in the NL Central and 28 games back in the division. They are also eliminated from Wild Card contention, ranking ninth in that race at 13.0 relative to the cut line. Cincinnati enters the weekend on a one-game losing streak.

The upcoming schedule sends the Reds to PNC Park for a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andrew Abbott is the probable starter Friday against Paul Skenes. Chase Burns is lined up Saturday against Jared Jones. Brady Singer closes the series Sunday against Mitch Keller. That rotation — Abbott, Burns, Singer — represents the kind of young pitching investment that explains, at least in part, why a 6.96 ERA from a veteran arm on a minimum deal doesn't survive long on this particular 40-man roster.

What we don't know yet

### Is Paddack expected to find another club quickly?

MLB Trade Rumors does not report any interest from other teams at this stage. Paddack is now a free agent for the second time in roughly six weeks, which is an unusual position for any pitcher — and the combined 6.96 ERA this season means the market, whatever shape it takes, will be a cautious one. Whether he draws major-league interest, accepts a minor-league arrangement, or steps away from the game entirely is not addressed in the reporting.

It is also worth noting that the mechanics of his situation are now different from his May release. When the Marlins released him, a claiming team would have inherited his $4MM salary — a deterrent that made clearing waivers predictable. Now, as a free agent off a minimum deal, the financial barrier is gone. Whether that changes the calculus for interested clubs remains to be seen.

What to watch

The immediate question is whether any organization extends a major-league or minor-league offer to Paddack before the summer roster shuffle accelerates. Under general league rules, clubs can carry 26 players on the active roster through August 31, with that number expanding to 28 from September 1 through the end of the regular season. That September expansion historically creates a small wave of roster additions league-wide, and veteran arms — even those with difficult recent numbers — sometimes find a landing spot in that window.

For Cincinnati specifically, the Paddack chapter closes quietly. The Reds took a low-cost swing on a pitcher who had shown enough in previous seasons to be worth a minimum-salary look, moved him between roles when the results were rough, and ultimately moved on when the ERA didn't respond. That's a reasonable description of how a club in the final months of a difficult season is supposed to operate. The rotation heading into Pittsburgh — Abbott, Burns, Singer — is the version of this team that matters going forward, and none of those three needed Paddack's roster spot to make that case.

Whether Paddack, now a two-time waiver-wire traveler in a single season, finds a third organization willing to hand him a ball is the only open thread the reporting leaves. MLB Trade Rumors will be worth watching for any follow-up on a potential landing spot.