Less than a month after being purchased by the Reds, he made his big league debut at age 27 on July 24, 1969 against Gary Gentry and the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
Breeden, starting at catcher, notched his first career hit in his first at-bat with a second-inning single, going 1-for-4 in the game.
He played in only that series against the Mets as starting catcher Johnny Bench was not available, and he was 0-for-4 in his final two games of the season.
Breeden spent the 1970 season in the Reds' minor league system, and was traded to the Cubs for Willie Smith on November 30, 1970.
[6] He was sent from the Padres to the Cardinals to complete a three-team deal from November 18, 1974 when Ed Brinkman went from San Diego to St. Louis for Sonny Siebert, Alan Foster and Rich Folkers after having been traded along with Bob Strampe and Dick Sharon from the Detroit Tigers for Nate Colbert.