Matt McLain still hasn’t found his 2023 form, again

Q: What is Matt McLain's current wRC+ in the 2026 season?

Matt McLain currently has a wRC+ of 71 in the 2026 season.

Q: How has Matt McLain's performance changed since his breakout in 2023?

Since his breakout in 2023, Matt McLain has struggled significantly, with a wRC+ of 71 in 2026 compared to a 101 wRC+ in 2023.

Q: What injury did Matt McLain suffer that affected his 2024 season?

Matt McLain lost his entire 2024 season due to oblique and shoulder problems.

Q: How does Matt McLain's current performance compare to Ke'Bryan Hayes?

Both players are struggling, with McLain having a wRC+ of 71 and Hayes at 55, making them the two lowest-hitting regulars in baseball.

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - APRIL 20: Matt McLain #9 of the Cincinnati Reds reacts after hitting a double in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 20, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Cincinnati Reds clearly began to put an emphasis on defense at some point over the last year. It was the driving reason behind their acquisition of 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh at last season’s trade deadline, a move that locked them into a glove-first (if not glove-only) player for a handful of guaranteed years into the future. Of the 116 MLB players who have logged at least 650 PA since the start of the 2025 season, none have a lower total wRC+ than Hayes’ 55. However, his DEF – per FanGraphs – has been the 6th best in the time, and clearly the team feels that what he provides at the hot corner with the glove is enough to offset his bat (for the time being). Chalking up a position like 3B to being glove-only is rare in this day and age, as that has typically been reserved for players who also carry a pretty potent bat. It helps that sports right next to him at short, since the combined output of those two positions wouldn’t totally make you blink if, say, you were getting Elly’s production out of 3B and Hayes’ out of SS. Things get complicated when you begin to realize that the Reds don’t just have *one* infield position being chalked up to being glove-only, but they’ve had *two* – and had it that way for quite awhile now. If we circle back to that list of 116 MLB players who have logged at least 650 PA since the start of 2025 – the one where Hayes ranks at the bottom on the wRC+ leaderboard – . He owns a 76 wRC+ over that time (in a larger 720 PA sample), and while that’s still light years better than the 55 of Hayes, it’s an unavoidable fact that the Reds are now rolling out just about every single day the two lightest-hitting regulars in all of baseball together. There are parallels between the two beyond that. Back in 2023, Hayes had seemingly cemented himself as a 3+ WAR per season regular after hitting .271/.309/.453 with 15 homers for the Pirates, good for a 101 wRC+ that more than complemented his elite defense. McLain, meanwhile, broke into the big leagues that year in a huge way with a .290/.357/.507 line in 403 PA that had FanGraphs value him at an identical 3.2 fWAR to that of Hayes that season. Both, though, have hit significant hiccups since. Hayes has dealt with a back issue off and on that’s cost him time, and McLain famously lost his entire 2024 campaign after oblique and shoulder problems. So, ever since those duel 2023 breakouts, the two have looked like complete shells of themselves. FanGraphs has at least loved McLain’s defense enough this season to value him at just 0.0 fWAR despite a 71 wRC+, one that has featured one game in which he hit 2 homers and 33 others in which he’s hit zero. He’s mired in a 3 for 31 slump since that game towards the end of April, and his collective work has Baseball Reference valuing his 2026 season a -0.5 bWAR so far. McLain will turn 27 this summer, so it’s not as if he’s still got a ton of ‘maturing’ left to do. The question, as it was last year, is just how long it will take him to find his 2023 form again after major shoulder surgery, and the timetable to find out whether that’s a reality is beginning to extend a lot further than I think a lot of us imagined it would. In the meantime, we’re also now getting a glimpse at what prospect can do two years removed from his own similar shoulder surgery, and the former consensus Top 100 overall middle infielder is off to a roaring .305/.386/.489 start in 160 PA with AAA Louisville in his age-22 season. It’s not yet time to pull the plug on McLain completely. His glovework provides legit big league value at both 2B and SS, and those don’t grow on trees. But as he inches closer to both being 27 years old and to his first trip through the arbitration process, the clock is certainly ticking on just how much longer the Reds can wait to find out if he can truly be a co-star on this team as they try like heck to establish a recurring winner.