Spencer Steer and Tony Santillan to undergo surgery, expected to miss significant time

What happened

Spencer Steer and Tony Santillan are both headed for surgery, per MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Steer, Cincinnati's third baseman, will undergo wrist surgery and is expected to miss significant time. Santillan, a reliever in the Reds' bullpen, will have hip surgery and faces an extended absence. Per Sheldon's report, both players are expected to be placed on the injured list in conjunction with their upcoming procedures.

Why it matters

The timing softens the immediate roster math — Cincinnati, at 73-85 (.462), has already been eliminated from both the NL Central division race and the Wild Card race, so neither player's absence will alter the club's October calculus. But the surgical nature of both injuries means the questions being asked right now are not about September. They are about who is available and healthy when the Reds report to spring training.

Santillan's situation carries the longer shadow. Earlier this week, Posterior Wire reported that Santillan had been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hip labral tear, with surgery described as likely and his availability potentially affected into 2027. That framing — a reliever who may not be ready at the start of next season — is the kind of detail a front office has to account for when building a winter roster plan.

Steer's wrist surgery lands differently in terms of position scarcity. Third base is not a position where teams carry deep organizational depth without noticing, and Steer has been a regular presence in Cincinnati's lineup. Sheldon's report describes the expected absence as significant, though no specific timetable has been attached to either player's recovery in the material available.

Where the club stands

The Reds sit at 73-85 (.462), fifth in the NL Central and 26 games back of the division lead. Their Wild Card standing ranks ninth, 14.0 relative to the cut line. The club enters Thursday on a one-game losing streak.

With elimination already in the books on both fronts, Cincinnati is playing out a schedule that now functions more as an audition reel than a pennant chase. Thursday brings a road game at Atlanta's Truist Park, where Brady Singer is the probable starter against Tyler Mahle. The club then travels to Toronto for back-to-back games at Rogers Centre on Friday and Saturday, with Nick Lodolo lined up Friday against a Toronto starter yet to be named, and Rhett Lowder projected for Saturday against another TBD opponent.

The September roster expansion — which allows clubs to carry 28 active players through the end of the regular season — gives Cincinnati some flexibility to absorb the IL placements without the same crunch that would accompany a similar pair of moves in July. Still, losing a starting position player and a bullpen arm to surgery in the same announcement is not the kind of news any organization files away cheerfully, regardless of the standings.

It is also worth noting that the surgical news for Steer and Santillan arrives days after Posterior Wire reported that Chase Burns was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain, retroactive to September 19th, closing out what had been a breakout 2026 season for the young starter. The Reds' pitching staff has absorbed a series of late-season IL moves in a compressed window, and while the club's postseason status means none of those moves alter October plans, the cumulative picture of who will be healthy and ready for 2027 is one the front office will be assembling carefully this offseason.

What we don't know yet

Neither Steer's nor Santillan's recovery timetable has been specified in Sheldon's report. The "significant time" and "extended period" language attached to each player is meaningful directionally but leaves the precise length of each absence unresolved. Whether either player could be ready for Opening Day 2027 — or whether Santillan's hip surgery pushes his return deeper into next season, as earlier reporting suggested was possible — remains an open question.

The specific surgical procedures have not been detailed beyond the body part involved: wrist for Steer, hip for Santillan. The nature and complexity of a procedure can shape a recovery arc considerably, and that information has not been reported.

What to watch

### Will either player be ready for spring training?

That is the question that will define how Cincinnati approaches the offseason at third base and in the bullpen. The Santillan situation bears the most watching, given the earlier reporting that his availability could extend into 2027. If the hip surgery carries a recovery window that pushes past spring camp, the Reds would need to account for that absence in their bullpen construction before pitchers and catchers report.

For Steer, the wrist is a swing-dependent injury for a position player, and the "significant time" qualifier in Sheldon's report suggests this is not a minor procedure. Any update on surgical timing, procedure specifics, or a recovery window from the club would sharpen the picture considerably.

The 60-day injured list — which removes a player from the 40-man roster count and is available as a transfer from shorter IL stints — is a roster management tool that becomes relevant when a recovery arc extends well beyond the initial placement. Whether Cincinnati uses that mechanism for either player is among the procedural details still to be resolved.

The Reds' final series of the regular season, in Toronto this weekend, will play out without either player contributing. The focus for Cincinnati's baseball operations will increasingly shift to what the roster looks like when the calendar turns. Two surgical procedures reported in the same piece, with timetables still unresolved, is where that offseason conversation begins.