David Bell’s job in his second year as the Reds manager has gotten both easier and harder this offseason – easier because he has more quality players from which to choose when filling out his lineup and harder because he still has just eight positions to fill.



Any manager, though, will take that kind of problem, Bell included.



The Reds agreed to a deal Monday with the top remaining free agent on the market, outfielder Nicholas Castellanos. Castellanos agreed to a four-year, $64-million deal with opt-outs after both the first and second years. The $64-million matches Mike Moustakas, who signed the team’s largest-ever free-agent deal in December. Between Castellanos, Moustakas, outfielder Shogo Akiyama and lefty Wade Miley, the Reds have committed to $164 million this off-season, by far the biggest spending spree in team history.



Castellanos and Akiyama join an outfield that already consisted of three former first-round picks in Nick Senzel,...