The 2026 Cincinnati Reds season has proven that the roster needs a lot of work. The Reds finished last in the National League Central and were twelve games under .500. They are far away from the postseason and even farther away from making the World Series with the roster they have right now.

The 2026 World Series is between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays in a battle of two of baseball's best teams and rosters. And the Reds could learn from both of these franchises about how they constructed their rosters.

Making the Right Trades

Most of each World Series team is made up of players acquired in trades, with the Brewers having 15 and the Rays having 17, making up the majority of their World Series rosters. The Rays made five of those 15 trades in 2026, including picking up Tyler Wells, Liam Hicks, and Freddy Peralta at the August trade deadline. The Brewers made a bold deal by acquiring pitchers Dustin May and Jojo Romero from the Cardinals at the deadline. The takeaway is that both the Rays and Brewers were aggressive in improving their rosters and made sound deals for their franchises.

The Brewers have the vast majority of their bullpen from trades. Milwaukee has Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, and Jojo Romero as key pieces of their bullpen, all of whom were acquired via trades. These additions complement the other stud relievers of Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall. This is where the Reds can learn a lesson. The construction of a strong bullpen is key to a long playoff run, and the Reds will have to do better with their decisions in 2027.

Both teams have made aggressive and smart trades, while being bold enough to go for additions that would improve their teams, especially when they are close to being a championship contender.

Don't Need Power Hitters

One aspect that the Cincinnati Reds improved in 2026 was their home run hitting. The Reds were fourth in MLB with 213 home runs in the regular season. But the Reds were also one of the worst offenses in all of baseball. So hitting home runs does not mean a good offense. The Rays and Brewers are a good example of this.

The Brewers were 29th in home runs in 2026 (154), and the Rays were 22nd with 169 home runs. But the Brewers and Rays were first and second, respectively, in batting average, while the Reds were the worsst in baseball. This proves that offense is more than just hitting long balls, and the Rays and Brewers were the best at putting the ball in play. If the Reds are going to be competitive, they will need to improve by adding guys who will hit for average and not strike out as much.

The Reds can take a lot of lessons from the two teams that are in the World Series, let's just hope that the Front Office is taking notes.

Follow me on X at @RedHotRedsPod