A mass inflow of younger expertise led the 2023 Reds to a 82-80 file, and hopes that the membership might grow to be full-fledged contenders this season. Sadly, even a .500 file is a longshot at this level, because the 72-77 Reds have fallen out of playoff rivalry. Most of Cincinnati’s breakout gamers from 2023 took steps backwards as a consequence of accidents or simply flat-out lack of manufacturing, and gamers like Jeimer Candelario or (the since-traded) Frankie Montas meant to convey veteran stability additionally struggled.
“As of proper now, we’re going to judge every little thing on the finish of the yr and see what we now have to do to maneuver ahead,” president of baseball operations Nick Krall advised reporters, together with the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer. Krall included “myself, all people” beneath this purview, although there hasn’t been any indication that possession is contemplating firing Krall lower than a yr after signing him to a contract extension.
Supervisor David Bell additionally inked a brand new extension halfway via final season, locking up the skipper on a three-year deal masking the 2024-26 campaigns. “He’s acquired a contract for subsequent yr,” is now Krall described Bell’s standing with the group, which could possibly be learn as both a matter-of-fact approach of declaring Bell’s job safety, or as one thing lower than a full affirmation that Bell will return for what can be his seventh season because the Reds’ supervisor.
Krall famous that organization-wide evaluations are completed yearly as a matter of due diligence, so typically, the PBO isn’t breaking any information by saying that the Reds will take a deep have a look at what went awry. Nonetheless, such evaluations within the wake of a dropping season might doubtlessly result in bigger strikes because the workforce seems for solutions. It will look like some teaching modifications will likely be made on the very minimal, and whether or not or not Bell’s job atop the dugout depth chart stays to be seen.
Bell takes a 405-452 file into right now’s motion, with successful information in three of his six full seasons. The Reds have by no means had higher than a .517 successful proportion beneath Bell, and their solely playoff look throughout his tenure got here within the shortened 2020 season, when the league expanded the playoff bracket to 16 groups. Cincinnati was a fast out in that yr’s postseason, because the Reds didn’t even rating a run throughout a pair of losses to the Braves in a best-of-three wild card collection.
As all the time, it’s exhausting to pinpoint how a lot a supervisor does or doesn’t contribute to a workforce’s success or failure. Bell took over a Reds workforce that was simply popping out of a rebuild, after which rapidly entered into one other payroll reduce and semi-rebuild following the 2021 season, because the workforce wished to save cash as a consequence of revenues misplaced throughout the pandemic. Bell has managed the Reds via this tumult, in addition to a entrance workplace change (with Krall taking up the baseball operations division from Dick Williams after the 2020 season), the fully sudden circumstance of the pandemic, after which this fast pivot again to a reload of younger expertise.
Until possession feels a brand new voice is required within the dugout to actually get the Reds again onto a successful monitor, Bell would possibly get a minimum of another yr as supervisor. It appears fairly attainable the Reds would possibly immediately have a way more constructive outlook if the youthful gamers who struggled or missed time this yr (i.e. Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Alexis Diaz, Noelvi Marte, and so on.) re-establish themselves in 2025. And, if Bell is being gauged on the event of the workforce’s younger core, then the emergence of Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, and Andrew Abbott might all depend as arguments as to why Bell ought to stick round.
For as a lot as a managerial change can shake issues up, it is usually maybe the best approach for a workforce to deal with a disappointing stretch of play, and never essentially the proper approach. Krall will face an fascinating offseason in figuring out how one can construct the roster via extra additions (whereas nonetheless working on a considerably restricted payroll), and in figuring which of the youthful stars might need performed themselves out of Cincinnati’s future, or who simply had “sophomore stoop” varieties of seasons.
