Reds cut infielder Jeimer Candelario halfway into $45 million deal: ‘Sunk cost’

The Reds better have a strong stomach because they’re eating a lot of cash.

Cincinnati designated veteran infielder Jeimer Candelario for assignment on Monday, almost halfway through his three-year, $45 million deal inked before last season.

“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 reporters.

Cincinnati Reds infielder Jeimer Candelario Frank Bowen IV/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

This season, Candelario started 22 games for the Reds until landing on the injured list with a lumbar spine strain in late April. He hit .113/.198/.213.

He was sent on a 17-game rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Louisville, during which he hit .238 with just a single home run and 13 RBIs. 

Cincinnati activated Candelario from the 10-day IL, but he’d already played his final games for the team.

With younger infielders like Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Noelvi Marte almost back from injury, it seems there was not enough room for the older and underperforming Candelario, especially as the Reds have climbed to within 6.5 games of the NL Central-leading Cubs entering Monday’s slate. 

Jeimer Candelario hitting a double while on the Reds. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“It was obviously a tough decision. He’s a great guy. We signed the contract because we thought he was going to come in and be our everyday third baseman. But at the end of the day, it just didn’t work out,” Krall said. “We felt this would give us our best chance to win games to keep the guys we had here versus activating him.”

With the release of Candelario, the Reds will have to pay the player for the remainder of the contract, approximately $22.5 million, per MLB.com.

The 31-year-old can at least point to his previous production — in 2021 with the Detroit Tigers, he led the league in doubles with 42 and had an impressive slash line of .271/.351/.443, and in 2023, he hit 22 home runs and 39 doubles between the Nationals and Cubs — as a selling point to team in the hopes of getting picked up, but his 2025 numbers aren’t going to help.