Will Benson’s four-year run with the Cincinnati Reds ended this week when the outfielder elected free agency, closing a chapter that began with a first-round pedigree and never quite settled into a steady major-league role.
Benson, 28, opted for free agency on October 1, according to the club’s transactions log. The move was available to him because he had already been removed from the 40-man roster.
Cincinnati optioned him to Triple-A Louisville in late June, then designated him for assignment on July 4 to clear a spot when Hunter Greene returned from the injured list.
Benson cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to the Bats rather than walk away midseason and forfeit the remainder of his $1.725 million salary. With the year over, he is now free to sign anywhere.
The Atlanta native arrived in baseball with real expectations. The Cleveland Indians selected him 14th overall in the 2016 draft out of The Westminster Schools, and he signed for a $2.5 million bonus instead of honoring a commitment to Duke.
He made his major-league debut with the Guardians on August 1, 2022, and hit .182 in 28 games before Cleveland dealt him to the Reds in February 2023 for outfielder Justin Boyd, cash, and pitcher Steve Hajjar as a player to be named later.
His first season in Cincinnati looked like the arrival scouts had projected. In 108 games, Benson hit .275/.365/.498 with 11 home runs, 31 RBI, and 19 stolen bases, and he delivered a walk-off homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The power-speed combination was real. The contact was not. He struck out 103 times that year, a pattern that never fully corrected.
The next three seasons traced a familiar up-and-down path between Great American Ball Park and Louisville. Benson played 128 games in 2024 and hit .187 with 14 home runs and 16 steals.
He was more useful in 2025, batting .226 with 12 homers in 90 games, then faded again in 2026: 51 games, a .188/.310/.333 line, three home runs, and six RBI, with 38 strikeouts in 114 plate appearances. Louisville offered little rescue. He hit .205 with four home runs in 66 games there.
Across 377 games with the Reds, Benson batted .223 with a .305 on-base percentage, 40 home runs, 45 doubles, 121 RBI, and 38 stolen bases. The tools never disappeared.
At 6-foot-4 and left-handed, he could play all three outfield spots and still run. What he could not do was cut the strikeouts enough to hold an everyday job once the early flash wore off.
He joins TJ Friedl and P.J. Higgins among Reds who have already chosen free agency this offseason.
For Benson, the open market is a reset after a career that peaked early in Cincinnati and never found a second act.
