Emilio Pagan Takes Third Blown Save In Reds’ 5-4 Loss
emilio pagan took his third blown save of the season Monday, and Cincinnati fell 5-4 to the Chicago Cubs for its fourth straight loss. The setback deepened the Reds’ closer problem after a night in which the late-game margin vanished again.
Pagán Owns The Miss
Pagán did not dodge the issue after the loss. “Quite honestly, I haven’t held up my end of the bargain. As painful as today is, I feel like I’m getting really close to being who I can be. I made two mistakes today, and they both got hit,” he said.
The numbers behind the frustration are hard to ignore. Through 14 games, he has a 6.43 ERA and a 5.86 FIP, a sharp turn from the form that helped him land a two-year, $20 million contract in the offseason.
Cincinnati’s Closer Dilemma
The Reds signed Pagán after he posted a 2.88 ERA and a career-best 32 saves in 2025, but that version has not shown up yet this year. His third blown save arrived in a one-run loss, the kind of game Cincinnati has to finish to avoid digging deeper in the standings.
Some Reds fans want him replaced, but Terry Francona does not have a clear viable alternative on the roster right now. Tony Santillan has been mentioned as a possible option, yet he gave up the go-ahead run in Cincinnati’s 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon and owns a 15.3% walk rate.
What Cincinnati Has Now
That leaves the Reds with a short-term problem and no clean answer. Pagán is still in the role, but Monday’s loss, his third blown save, and the four-game skid have pushed the discussion beyond one bad night and into the structure of the bullpen itself.
For Cincinnati, the next move is less about rhetoric than trust. Pagán has to steady the ninth inning, or the Reds have to keep searching inside the roster for someone who can finish games without adding another collapse to the same stretch of losses.
