Wth the offseason officially underway, we're starting to see which minor leaguers are electing free agency. On Friday, one name was a bit of a surprise.

Starting pitcher Nestor Lorant elected free agency.

The 24-year-old right-hander pitched in 14 games between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga this past season. He showed promise with an ERA of 2.71 and 87 strikeouts across 63 innings.

In 2024, Lorant was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year. That same season, he was also named the organization's minor league pitcher of the year.

Lorant dominated during the 2024 season with Low-A Daytona. In 22 games, he has an ERA of 1.44 to go along with 99 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings.

His biggest concern is his velocity. Lorant doesn't have the velocity you'd like out of a top prospect, which is why he never made any top prospect lists. However, he's still been able to strike hitters out and has an elite changeup.

Since Lorant never got higher than Double-A with the Reds, he likely wants to start over with another organization where he thinks he'll get a better shot at making it to the big leagues.

Lorant might not have been one of the Reds' top prospects, but with the organization already lacking pitching depth, losing another arm certainly doesn't help.

Reds Manager Terry Francona Gives Final Thoughts on 2026 Season

After the final game of the 2026 season, Reds manager Terry Francona said the Reds needed to be tougher moving forward. When asked about those comments a month later, he clarified what he meant.

"Obviously, one word probably doesn't sum up the whole season," Francona told Jim Day. "I don't think our guys aren't tough. I probably should have explained that a little better. I meant tougher at-bats, fighting with two strikes, things like that. Just scrapping and taking anything they'll give us. It seemed like there were a lot of games [where] you'd look up in the fifth inning and we had 10 strikeouts. Then you'd keep playing and make a game of it, but we put ourselves behind the eight ball. We've got to do better. 

The Reds still have plenty of holes to fill before the 2027 season, but Francona isn't someone who's going to accept losing. He knows this team needs more talent, and you can bet he'll make his thoughts known to the front office and ownership as they look to improve the roster this offseason.