Now that Spring Training is in full swing, I think we can finally give an initial grade to a team’s offseason. There are a few big-name free agents out there, but most teams at this point have the players they are going to compete with in 2019. So I’d like to look at one of the most active teams this offseason: the Cincinnati Reds.

2018: Another Year to Forget

Let’s first review where the Reds were at the end of the 2018 season (insert dumpster fire jokes/memes here). The Reds were bad. Really bad. They finished last in the NL C entral for the fourth straight year, and couldn’t even break out of their 90+ loss season streak. What was perhaps worse was that the organization was clearly dysfunctional. Perhaps not Marlins or Orioles-level dysfunction, but still it wasn’t clear who was running the show: the owner or the front office or the manager. Throughout 2018 you’d hear conflicting signals from each one. They didn’t know what to do with their top prospect (Nick Senzel), or how to handle Jesse Winker, an excellent hitter who was playing in his first full season for the team.

On the field, the state of the Reds starting rotation was abysmal. Homer Bailey, of the famous $100M+ contract, was an albatross, pitching to a 1-14 record that was actually better than his contribution to the team. No pitcher stood out, although a few—such as Luis Castillo—did show some promise. Add to that a relatively weak defense, and opposing hitters were salivating at the chance to face the Reds in 2018.

Another major weakness of the team was the coaching staff. Most of the staff were either retreds or legacy guys who were essentially on the staff as a reward for their years of service to the team. It was perhaps the least innovative, most regressive coaching staff in the league.

A final weakness was center field, where Billy Hamilton patrolled. As always, Hamilton was excellent in the field (although perhaps not as excellent as in previous years), but his hitting continued to resemble an old lady swatting flies. Worse yet, his baserunning—one of the most important parts of his game—took a step backwards, as he only had 34 stolen bases (against 10 caught stealings).

But there were some bright spots on the Reds in 2018. The offense was actually quite strong. Although likely Hall of Famer Joey Votto had a down year by his lofty standards, others, including Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett, more than made up for it. Although the Reds couldn’t stop other teams from scoring, they were able to put up some runs themselves, ranking eight in the National League in runs scored.

Going into the 2018-2019 offseason, the Reds clearly needed to improve. But would they?

An Active Offseason

For the past few years, the typical Reds offseason could be mistaken for hibernation. Usually once the regular season ended, you didn’t see the Reds in the news until Spring Training. Not so this year. Clearly the Reds decided enough was enough and they were going to work to remake the franchise.

We’ve seen that the two biggest weaknesses of the team were the starting rotation and the coaching staff. This was also where the majority of changes occurred from October to February. The entire coaching staff was replaced, with David Bell named the new manager. Since Bell has no experience managing in the Major Leagues, it’s impossible to judge how good of a hire this is. So far, however, he is saying all the right things, and even a few things he’s done in Spring Training show that he’s open to being innovative and doing anything he can to gain a competitive advantage. Of course, Bryan Price said similar things when he was first hired, but ended up being Dusty Baker 2.0.

The starting rotation was also almost completely replaced. Three new pitchers were acquired: Alex Wood, Sonny Gray, and Tanner Roark. None can be considered “aces”, but each one is better than anyone the Reds ran out there last year (or the past few years, in fact). Just as important, Homer Bailey was traded to the Dodgers, thus removing the worst regular member of the staff. While the Reds might not match the Nationals for starting pitcher firepower, their staff has clearly been upgraded.

The Reds had an adequate relief pitching corp last year, and over the offseason they did little to upgrade it, adding only Zach Duke to the mix. It’s unlikely the relief pitchers will be Yankees-level dominant, but they shouldn’t hurt the team, either.

The Reds further added to their already effective offense. They first gained by subtracting Billy Hamilton, their worst offensive player. They then added Yasiel Puig, who might be more hype than substance but is still a major upgrade from Hamilton. They also acquired Matt Kemp, who can give them some right-handed pop off the bench (but not much else at this point in his career). Unfortunately, neither Puig or Kemp can play center field effectively, so the defense, which was already suspect, likely will take a step backwards this season. The Reds plan to try out Senzel at center, which may or may not work. Of course, in Great American Ball Park and its tiny outfield, it might not matter that much.

Another area the team improved was the bench. Even during the Reds’ good run from 2010-2013, their bench was a collection of misfits and rejects. Last year was no different. But recently the Reds signed two legitimate major leaguers—Derek Dietrich and Jose Iglesias—to minor league deals, with the expectation that they can be useful bench players. Both of these moves showed considerable savvy from the front office, as they were able to bolster their team at almost no cost.

Speaking of which, usually when a team improves as much as the Reds did this offseason, they sacrifice their future to do so by giving up top prospects. However, the Reds only gave up three top prospects—Jeter Downs, Josiah Gray, and Shed Long—and none of the three were a Top 5 prospect in the Reds system. Their prospect studs—Senzel, Taylor Trammell, and Hunter Greene—are still around. By doing this, they were unable to snag the ace they desired, but they also kept their foundation strong for post-2019 years. The Reds should be better in 2019, but they didn’t kill themselves for 2020 and beyond, either.

Handing Out Grades

So how would I grade the Reds’ offseason? Let’s break it down into sections:

Coaching Staff: A+

Starting Pitching: B+

Relief Pitching: B

Offense: A

Defense: D

Overall Grade: A-

In the highly competitive NL Central, it’s unlikely the Reds will compete for the division title. It’s possible, but only slightly more likely, that they’ll compete even for a Wild Card slot. However, unlike in previous years, it’s also unlikely that they’re headed for another 90+ loss season. And to long-suffering Reds fans, that improvement is enough to keep them happy, at least for one year.

Photo Credit: Meg Vogel/The Enquirer

Eric Sammons is a lifelong baseball fan, a youth baseball coach, and a father of seven children (just two more for a full team!). His favorite team is the Cincinnati Reds, and his all-time favorite players are Eric Davis and Ken Griffey, Jr.

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