May 21—A month ago, Rece Hinds was the Cincinnati Reds’ starting right fielder. On Thursday, May 21, the Reds traded him to the Miami Marlins for a minor league relief pitcher.
With Hinds unable to be consistent offensively at the big league level, he was designated for assignment by the Reds last week and then traded to the Marlins for right-hander Zach McCambley.
Last Sunday, May 17, the Reds placed catcher Jose Trevino on the injured list with a hamstring injury that will keep him out for three-to-four weeks. To call up catcher PJ Higgins, who wasn’t on the 40-man roster, the Reds had to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Hinds was the odd man out, and the expectation was that there would be interest in him on the waiver wire.
“Maybe for his sake, I really hope he gets an opportunity he didn’t get here,” Reds manager Terry Francona said last week. “I love the kid. There are obviously tools there. Sometimes, things have a way of working out for guys.”
There was optimism around Hinds entering 2026. He had a fantastic spring training and made a strong charge for a spot on the Opening Day roster. While he didn’t make the team, he quickly ended up in a regular role in the big leagues after a struggling Noelvi Marte was optioned to Triple-A in the middle of April.
“It’s a different Rece,” Hinds said when he was called up in April. “I’ve always tried to prove to someone else that I’m this player. Over the past year, I’ve proven I’m an all-around player.”
In his 36 plate appearances with the Reds in 2026, Hinds went on to have four hits, no homers and 18 strikeouts. In 131 career plate appearances in the big leagues going back to the 2024 season, Hinds is hitting .172.
JJ Bleday has taken a hold of that corner outfield job that had been up in the air. His ability to hit for power, battle back when he’s down in the count and make an impact against both lefties and righties has impressed the Reds a lot.
“It’s a breath of fresh air playing for this team and this organization,” Bleday said. “I’ll continue to get better. There’s always room for improvement. I want to keep on carrying through.”
Hinds now joins a young, rebuilding Marlins team that only has six active hitters with a WAR above 0.0. He should get an opportunity in 2026 with his new team.
In return, the Reds get an intriguing versatile relief pitcher in McCambley.
He was a third-round pick in 2020 and progressed through Miami’s farm system. Last December, the Phillies took McCambley in the Rule 5 Draft and game him a chance to compete for a roster spot.
When the Phillies selected him, Phillies professional scouting director Mike Ondo described McCambley’s strengths to Philadelphia media.
“He’s really, really tough on right-handed hitters,” Ondo told reporters. “And I think that was one of the big appeals for us: to have a guy that can kind of come in — he’s got a starter background, he’s been in the bullpen — but just someone who has some versatility to maybe log some innings, pitch short, whatever the staff might need him to do. But to really kind of get in there and get him on a pocket of right-handed hitters, I think, is really what we’re hoping is where some big value is.”
When McCambley didn’t make the Phillies’ Opening Day roster, he returned to Miami’s organization and posted a 2.36 ERA with the Marlins’ Triple-A team.
The Reds don’t have much versatility in their bullpen in the big leagues or in Triple-A, and McCambley’s ability to cover multiple innings gives him a way to contribute as a depth piece over the course of the 2026 season.
