In 2025, Abbott was an All-Star and was named the Team MVP. In 2026, he’ll take the mound for the Reds on Opening Day.
“I feel like I made a name for myself, speaking very personally,” Abbott said. “There’s more to do. You can never get complacent in this game. You’re always improving. It’s a good start, for sure. There are multiple areas I can improve and focus on getting better to (help for) the next many years.”
Abbott hopes to pitch into his 40s. He’s an old-school pitcher who fills up the strike zone. His command, deep repertoire of pitches and confidence have allowed him to become one of the best young lefties in MLB. Even though the 26-year-old doesn’t rack up strikeouts or reach the upper-90s with his fastball, his know-how has allowed him to establish himself as a standout big leaguer.
Watching Abbott’s development has been a lot of fun for his teammates.
“He has always been a great pitcher,” reliever Graham Ashcraft said. “His command has always been there. It seems each year, he’s getting better and better at tunneling his command. He can get the ball to the top. He can throw pitches off of that. If you do stuff like that and command the zone, you’re going to be great.”
Abbott’s continued growth will be especially important for a Reds’ team that will be missing Hunter Greene for the first half of the season. There’s a lot of talent in the Reds’ rotation, but there’s also a lot of youth between Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns.
Abbott hopes to take the next step by covering even more innings and pitching deeper into games.
“I always talk about being consistent,” Abbott said. “That’s the biggest determination — making all of your starts and throwing a lot of innings. That’s probably the next step for me.”
On Opening Day, Abbott will go up against a top-five pitcher in MLB in Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. It should make for a great pitching matchup between two teams that made the playoffs last season.
Abbott hopes that his season-opening start can help set the tone for a Reds’ season that has high expectations.
“We know basically everybody in here,” Abbott said. “We added some good pieces to the mix. We’ve got depth in places I think we haven’t had depth in years. I’m fired up to be here in general. We want to take it to the next level and build off what we did.”
Decisions to watch on Opening Day
1. Who bats cleanup?
Terry Francona says that he “reserves the right” to change his mind. But at the end of spring training, Sal Stewart was batting fourth, ahead of Eugenio Suárez.
This is going to be Terry Francona’s 25th year as a manager. In his entire managerial career, he has only had one rookie make at least 25 starts in a season in the cleanup spot. That would be Scott Rolen in 1997, which was Francona’s first year as a manager.
Rolen went on to be the Rookie of the Year. If Stewart ends up hitting cleanup this year, he’d join Rolen on that list of rookie cleanup hitters.
2. Who starts in the outfield?
Crochet, a left-handed ace, is a tough matchup for any lineup. The Reds do have more depth that they can use versus left-handed pitching than they’ve had in recent years.
Terry Francona views Spencer Steer as an every day player. TJ Friedl, the lone left-handed hitter in this group, is the Reds’ primary center fielder and leadoff guy because he’s great at getting on base.
Noelvi Marte has struggled vs. left-handed pitching, but he’s one of the most talented players on the roster and is still growing as a player. Dane Myers profiles as a role player, but he’s a terrific defender and has historically been great offensively against left-handed pitching.
3. How do the bullpen pieces fit?
During the offseason, the Reds prioritized solidifying their middle relief core.
One of those pitchers, lefty Caleb Ferguson, will open the year on the injured list with an oblique injury.
Bullpen roles typically settle out over the course of April. Francona will have several options in middle reliever.
Ashcraft was last year’s seventh inning reliever, Pierce Johnson has an impressive track record, Connor Phillips has tremendous upside and Brock Burke has been very consistent over the last two years.
What to know about the Red Sox
Boston had as interesting an offseason of any team in all of MLB.
They acquired two standout starting pitchers in Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray and added an All-Star first baseman in Willson Contreras. They lost All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency.
The Red Sox have invested heavily in veteran talent like Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Contreras and Trevor Story. But they’re also a team that’s significantly relying on standout young talent.
Outfielder Roman Anthony broke onto the scene last year and carried over that success into an impressive run with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He looks like one of the best young players in the game. Outfielders Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu, and second baseman Marcelo Mayer are also extremely talented while working on playing more consistent in 2026.
Another star on the Red Sox is former Red Aroldis Chapman. While Chapman took a step back between 2020 and 2024, he was in vintage form in 2025 as he posted a 1.17 ERA. The 38-year-old is still one of the hardest throwers in MLB.
Familiar faces
Francona had a famous run with the Red Sox between 2004 and 2011, winning two World Series.
In Boston, Francona managed current Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was a utility infielder.
“This is probably him encapsulated,” Francona said. “Dustin Pedroia makes the club (in 2007) and is our second baseman. He can’t get a hit for the first six weeks, I might be off a bit. Cora is hitting about .350 as the backup. Cora could have undercut him. He went out of his way to make sure that Pedroia (was ok). I was so proud of him. It cost Cora some playing time. But that to me is what a teammate is.”
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