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Pete Rose Passes Away

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MLB hit king Pete Rose passed away today at age 83, the Reds confirmed. One of the most accomplished players in MLB history, his decision to gamble on his team as a manager leaves behind a complicated legacy that has ultimately kept him out of the Hall of Fame.

“Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” Reds owner Bob Castellini said in a press release. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him. Pete was a Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country. We must never forget what he accomplished.”

A Cincinnati native, Rose signed with his hometown team out of high school. The Reds called him up in 1963. Rose hit .273 while appearing in 157 games during his debut season. He won the NL Rookie of the Year award while establishing himself as Cincinnati’s everyday second baseman. That kicked off one of the most illustrious playing careers in league history.

Rose suffered through a sophomore slump but rebounded with a strong ’65 season. He led MLB with 209 hits while running a .312/.382/.446 line. He earned his first All-Star selection and a sixth-place finish in MVP balloting. That was the first of six straight seasons in which Rose would appear among the Senior Circuit’s top 10 in MVP voting.

Throughout the rest of the 1960s, Rose never hit below .300 despite the league skewing extremely favorably for pitching. He topped 200 hits in four of the final five years of the decade. Rose won consecutive batting titles in 1968 and ’69, securing his first two top-five MVP finishes in the process. He moved off second base to the corner outfield midway through that run and would secure consecutive Gold Glove nods as an outfielder in 1969-70.

Excellent as those performances were, Rose truly broke out as an all-time great in the following decade. He was an integral part of the budding dynasty in Cincinnati that would dominate the National League during the 1970s. The Big Red Machine won their first pennant in 1970, a season in which Rose hit .316 with an MLB-best 205 hits. The Reds were bounced by the Orioles in the World Series. After missing the playoffs in ’71, they returned to the Fall Classic in 1972 behind Rose and Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez. They dropped a seven-game set to the A’s.

Rose again led the majors in hits in ’72. His 1973 campaign, at age 32, was the best of his career. Rose tallied a personal-high 230 hits while hitting .338/.401/.437 over 752 plate appearances. He won his third and final batting title, secured his seventh All-Star nod and won the MVP. The Reds won another division title but were knocked out by the Mets in a closely fought NL Championship Series.

The switch-hitter’s production tailed off somewhat in ’74, although he led the majors with 45 doubles and earned another All-Star selection. The Reds won 98 games but missed the postseason thanks to a 102-win showing from the division-leading Dodgers before the introduction of the Wild Card. Cincinnati returned to the playoffs with a 108-win season in ’75. They swept the Pirates in the NLCS, setting up a showdown with the Red Sox that’d go down as one of the greatest series in MLB history.

Carlton Fisk’s heroics in Game 6 pushed that Series — which had five one-run contests — to a deserved seventh game. The Reds came back from three runs down in the decider, scoring four times in the final four innings to win 4-3 at Fenway. Rose tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the seventh before Morgan drove home the winner in the ninth. Rose’s .370/.485/.481 slash earned him World Series MVP honors.

The Reds returned to the Fall Classic following a 102-win regular season the next year. This one was a lot less of a nail biter, as Cincinnati swept the Phillies and Yankees en route to a dominant repeat. Rose didn’t hit well in that World Series but had an MLB-best 215 to earn a fourth place MVP finish in the regular season.

Rose remained in Cincinnati through the end of the ’78 season. He combined for 402 hits between 1977-78 while topping .300 in both seasons. Rose left his hometown club to sign a free agent deal with the Phillies going into ’79. That ended a 16-year run in Cincinnati, over which he hit .310 with nearly 3200 hits in more than 2500 games. He continued racking up hits and All-Star appearances over five seasons with Philadelphia, where he hit .291 across over 3200 plate appearances during his age 38-42 seasons. He was part of three playoff teams with the Phils and won his third World Series on the 1980 club.

The Expos signed Rose for the 1984 season. While his stint in Montreal was brief and generally unproductive, he picked up his 4000th career hit that April. Rose joined Ty Cobb as the only players to cross the 4000-hit threshold. A return to Cincinnati set the stage for Rose to pass Cobb’s mark of 4189 career knocks. He did just that late in the ’85 campaign with a single off San Diego’s Eric Show.

Rose finished his playing days in 1986. He retired not only as the all-time leader in hits but also games played (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). His durability was staggering. Rose led the league in plate appearances seven times. He had 15 seasons in which he came to the plate at least 700 times. Rose almost never missed a game despite the hard-nosed playing style that earned him his “Charlie Hustle” moniker — a reputation that endeared him to plenty of fans while no doubt earning the ire of those of other teams.

At the time of his retirement, Rose was a surefire Hall of Famer. The hits crown alone would have gotten him into Cooperstown with ease. Rose was also a 17-time All-Star, a former Rookie of the Year and MVP, and a three-time champion. He hit .303/.375/.409 with 160 home runs, 2165 runs scored (sixth all time), 746 doubles and 1314 RBI. No player got on base more often than Rose, who reached nearly 6000 times over his 24-year run.

While those records and accolades will never change, Rose’s seemingly inevitable Hall of Fame induction was halted by a bombshell revelation. Rose had acted as a player-manager with the Reds beginning in 1984 and continued to manage after his retirement from playing. Late in the ’89 season, MLB announced that an investigation determined Rose had bet on baseball. That included bets on the teams which he’d been managing. While Rose only bet on Cincinnati to win and there’s no indication he ever tried to fix any games, that’s a violation of MLB’s biggest rule.

A finding that a player or coach had bet on games in which their team was involved — whether to win or lose — warrants a lifetime ban. (That remains the case today and came back into play this past June when MLB banned Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life for placing bets on the Pirates while he was a member of the team in 2023.) In 1991, the Hall of Fame announced a policy that any person who had been hit with a lifetime suspension by MLB was ineligible for induction. Rose never got on the ballot.

Getting into the Hall clearly would have meant a lot to Rose, who unsuccessfully pushed for reinstatement in the decades following his suspension. That continued well into Rob Manfred’s tenure as commissioner. Manfred, maintaining that betting on baseball warrants a true lifetime ban, rejected Rose’s appeals. The commissioner did not directly weigh in on the Hall of Fame’s policy against considering induction for those on the ineligible list. With neither the league nor the Hall budging, Rose was and remains ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration.

Rose remained tangentially involved with the game as a media personality. He worked as an analyst for Fox Sports between 2015-17. His tenure with Fox came to an end after a woman alleged in a court filing that Rose had had sexual relations with her while she was a minor in the 1970s. The allegations surfaced well after the statute of limitations for criminal action had passed and Rose was never charged. Rose filed a defamation suit against former MLB investigator John Dowd, who first publicly alleged in 2015 that Rose had relations with underage girls during the 70s. The suit was dropped by mutual agreement in 2017.

Rose’s worthiness for the Hall of Fame has been a divisive topic among fans for decades. What is indisputable is that he was one of the most iconic figures in baseball history. His hit record will probably stand the test of time, as league batting averages have dropped sharply with the proliferation of strikeouts and velocity. Rose was among the best players of the 1960s and 70s and an instrumental figure on a Big Red Machine team stacked with Hall of Fame talent that won multiple championships. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, loved ones, friends and former teammates.

TMZ Sports was first to report Rose’s death. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Report: Cardinals Open To Offers On Sonny Gray

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After a second consecutive season where they’ll miss the playoffs, the Cardinals organization appears to be in flux. With a presser scheduled for early in this coming week, rumors have swirled that the club is set to make some notable organizational changes to kick off their offseason. Those changes figure to be headlined by former Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom stepping into a larger role with the club’s baseball operations department, but USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports this morning that this offseason’s changes could carry over to the big league roster as well. Per Nightengale, the Cardinals are willing to listen to offers on veteran right-hander Sonny Gray just one year after signing him to a hefty three-year, $75MM deal as the team hopes to cut payroll entering next year.

The notion of St. Louis looking to trim down its payroll isn’t exactly a shocking one. Cardinals attendance dropped below 3 million this year for the first time since 2003 (ignoring the pandemic-impacted seasons of 2020 and 2021), leaving the club with less gate revenue than expected. Meanwhile, the TV revenue side of things isn’t much rosier as the Cardinals are one of the teams impacted by the ongoing Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy. While MLB and the Players’ Association agreed back in July to redirect funds towards clubs that have lost TV revenue amid Diamond’s troubles, it would hardly be a surprise if the club’s budgets going forward were impacted by this revenue uncertainty.

Even if the overall baseball operations budget isn’t reduced, it’s still possible to imagine the club’s player payroll dropping heading into 2025. After all, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported on the state of the Cardinals organization earlier this week and described a situation where the club has begun to prioritize major league payroll over investing in the organization’s development infrastructure, resulting in cuts to key areas of player development in order to sustain an ever-growing payroll at the big league level. With changes to the front office seemingly on the horizon, it’s certainly plausible that the club could pare back its payroll in order to invest in a more robust player development apparatus.

That possibility of a lower big league payroll next year leads back to Gray, who will see his back-loaded salary rise from $10MM this year to $25MM in 2025. While RosterResource at Fangraphs suggests St. Louis has just $108MM in guaranteed commitments for next year, that doesn’t include an increasingly expensive arbitration class including key players like Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and Ryan Helsley. Nor does it include the possibility of the club deciding to exercise its club option on one or both of Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, each of which are $12MM options with $1MM buyouts. With Gray’s $15MM raise this year and those possible additions to the payroll, it’s easy to see why the Cardinals may need to trade salary away in order to address the roster’s needs this winter even after shedding Paul Goldschmidt’s $26MM salary when he reaches free agency in November.

With that being said, losing Gray would be a major blow to St. Louis’s hopes of contending next year. The veteran right-hander had something of a down season in his first year with the Cardinals, posting a 3.84 ERA that’s just 9% better than league average by ERA+. Even so, Gray’s 3.12 FIP was nothing short of excellent and he remains just one year removed from a dominant season with the Twins that saw him finish second in AL Cy Young award voting behind Gerrit Cole. The 34-year-old hurler would likely be an improvement to just about any club’s rotation next year, but it’s hard to imagine the Cardinals themselves finding an adequate replacement for the right-hander internally coming off a season where the club’s starters collective posted a 4.36 ERA that ranks 21st in the majors and a 4.08 FIP that ranks 15th even with Gray in the fold.

What’s more, the hefty salary that could lead the Cardinals to consider dealing Gray could prove to be an anchor that makes him surprisingly difficult to trade. Between his salary for the next two years and a $5MM buyout on his option for 2027, Gray is owed $65MM over the next two seasons. That’s a hefty sum for any club to take on, and it could be especially problematic for clubs at or near the luxury tax. Upon being traded, contracts are recalculated for luxury tax purposes based on the remaining dollars and years on the deal, meaning that an acquiring team would be accepting a hit of nearly $32.5MM to their luxury tax ledger over the next two years by trading for Gray. Even if the Cardinals can find a trade partner willing to stomach that cost, Gray’s full no-trade clause could further complicate things by allowing him to block any deal if so chooses.

That’s not to say a deal would be completely impossible, of course. Plenty of players with no-trade clauses and even larger contracts than Gray have been dealt over the years, and if the Cardinals are sufficiently motivated to get a deal done there will surely be suitors for a pitcher of Gray’s caliber. Nightengale suggests that the Reds, for whom Gray pitched from 2019-21 and made his second career trip to the All-Star game, could have interest in a reunion if the veteran is made available this winter.

The Reds have had a disappointing season in 2024 but nonetheless sport an exciting young core of talent led by right-hander Hunter Greene and shortstop Elly De La Cruz. Adding Gray as an experienced, front-of-the-rotation veteran would be a huge boost for a Cincinnati rotation that appears likely to lose Nick Martinez to free agency this year but still has a number of interesting young arms behind Greene such as Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Rhett Lowder, and Graham Ashcraft. Any of those young arms would surely be attractive to St. Louis as a potential return for Gray’s services given their own rotation needs, though it seems likely that the Cardinals would need to retain some money in order to facilitate such a deal given the Reds’ typically low payrolls and Gray’s large contract.

Latest On Reds’ Managerial Search

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Six days after firing David Bell, the Reds’ search for a new skipper might not take full flight until the season is over.  The club has “been doing a lot of due diligence this week with a lot of different people,” president of baseball operations Nick Krall told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer and other reporters, though “we haven’t set up anything formal with anybody.”

As per Wittenmyer, the names already linked to the early stages of the search include now former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, former Cubs manager David Ross, and current Reds interim manager and longtime bench coach Freddie Benavides.  It would appear as though the Reds are looking primarily at candidates from outside the organization, as Wittenmyer writes that “Benavides is considered the lone in-house candidate.”  Neither Schumaker or Ross are exactly strangers to Cincinnati either, as both played for the Reds during their on-field careers.

Within minutes of the announcement of Bell’s firing, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Schumaker was “on the Reds’ radar” as the potential next skipper.  Though Schumaker is technically still under contract with Miami, it has been widely known that the manager and the team were parting ways after this season, so presumably the Marlins gave permission for whatever contact has taken place between the Reds and Schumaker’s camp.

In a sign of just how quickly the ground can shift underneath a manager’s feet, at this time one year ago both Schumaker and Ross seemed to have plenty of job security with their teams.  The Marlins made a surprise run at an NL wild card berth during Schumaker’s first season as manager, and Ross’ Cubs emerged from a two-year rebuild to finish with an 83-79 record.

The Cubs’ progress under Ross wasn’t enough for upper management, however, and Craig Counsell’s presence on the market led the team to stun the baseball world by swooping in to hire Counsell for a five-year, $40MM contract.  Ross found himself suddenly looking for work, and while he was linked to the Padres’ managerial vacancy and the Yankees’ bench coach job, “Uncle Rossy” instead spent the 2024 season on the sidelines.  In regards to the New York job, Ross was reportedly looking to get back into managing rather than coaching if he was to quickly pivot to another role after his unexpectedly late entry onto the open market.

Ross played with seven different teams at the MLB level during his 15-year playing career, including a stint with the Reds from 2006-08.  After capturing a World Series ring as member of the curse-breaking 2016 Cubs, Ross retired from playing and transitioned into a special assistant’s position within the front office.  Ross was then hired as manager following the 2019 season, and delivered a 262-284 record over four seasons in Chicago’s dugout.  The Cubs reached the playoffs in 2020 but Theo Epstein’s departure as president of baseball operations then led to a two-year step backwards for the organization, before the 2023 team posted a winning record.

Schumaker has already faced a lot of tumult over his two seasons as a big league manager.  Hired for Miami’s top job after a five-year stretch on the Padres’ and Cardinals coaching staff, Schumaker’s work in leading the Marlins to the playoffs led him to the 2023 NL Manager of the Year award.  However, on the heels of that successful debut year, owner Bruce Sherman wanted the Marlins to build a better minor league foundation, and looked to install a new president of baseball operations to oversee general manager Kim Ng.  Rather than accept a demotion, Ng declined her end of a mutual option for the 2024 season, and Miami then went into rebuild mode under new PBO Peter Bendix.

This left Schumaker in something of a limbo state, and when the Marlins voided their 2025 club option on his contract back in April, it was pretty apparent that 2024 was going to be Schumaker’s last year in South Beach.  Given how little he had to work with, Schumaker hasn’t been assigned any blame for the Marlins’ woeful 60-100 record this year, and he’ll head into the open market as perhaps the top managerial candidate available.  The White Sox are also known to have interest in Schumaker’s services, but as Wittenmyer observes, managing a Reds team with a lot of young breakout talent might well have more appeal to Schumaker than overseeing what is likely to be a pretty lengthy rebuild on the South Side of Chicago.

Reds Outright Alan Busenitz

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Reds right-hander Alan Busenitz went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Louisville, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll have the opportunity to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, though he can become a minor league free agent at season’s end anyhow. Cincinnati also reinstated outfielder/designated hitter Nick Martini from the 60-day injured list and opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring southpaw Brandon Williamson from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Martini was optioned rather than being added to the active roster.

Busenitz, 34, has allowed six runs in four innings with Cincinnati this season and eight runs in 11 frames over the past two seasons combined. The journeyman right-hander has spent the bulk of his time with the Reds organization in Triple-A, He’s had a solid season in Louisville this year, logging 66 1/3 innings of 4.07 ERA ball with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.

Busenitz came to the Reds organization on a minor league deal after a nice four-year run in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he worked to a 2.83 ERA across four seasons with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Prior to that NPB stint, he pitched in parts of two seasons with the Twins, posting a 1.99 ERA in 31 2/3 innings as a rookie in 2017 before being shelled for a 7.82 ERA in 25 1/3 innings the following season. In all, he’s pitched 68 big league innings with a 4.90 ERA.

Martini tore a ligament in his thumb back in July on a headfirst slide into second base. He underwent surgery a couple days later and ultimately missed more than two months of action. The 34-year-old opened the season on a tear, blasting a pair of Opening Day homers and hitting .290/.303/.677 through his first 11 games. He then fell into a prolonged slump before being optioned to Louisville in early May. The well-traveled outfielder hit .212/.272/.370 in 162 plate appearances with the Reds and carries a career .252/.336/.400 line in 575 big league plate appearances. The Reds can control him for another four seasons, but there’s a good chance he’ll be removed from the 40-man roster after the season and wind up a minor league free agent.

MLBTR Podcast: Final Days In Oakland, The Surging Tigers, And If The Nats Will Pursue Soto

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What will the Yankees’ backup plan be if they don’t re-sign Juan Soto? (30:20)
  • Do you see the Pirates making any significant off season moves to put a good offense around Paul Skenes and Jared Jones? (39:30)
  • Which three teams will be the most interested in signing Willy Adames? Could he command $100MM over 4 years? (46:10)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Reds Activate Ian Gibaut From Injured List

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The Reds announced that right-hander Ian Gibaut has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Their 40-man roster had a vacancy due to righty Alan Busenitz being designated for assignment in recent days, but it is now full with this move. Right-hander Julian Aguiar has been placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to September 21, with a right elbow sprain as the corresponding active roster move.

Gibaut, now 30, has missed the entire 2024 major league season thus far. He landed on the 15-day IL to start the year due to a right forearm strain. He was rehabbing in April but was shut down due to renewed discomfort. He was transferred to the 60-day IL in May and it was announced that he had undergone an anterior interosseous nerve (AIN) release procedure. He was able to begin another rehab assignment a few weeks back and has made four minor league appearances this month as part of that assignment.

The righty was a notable part of the club’s pitching staff last year. He made 74 appearances for the Reds in 2024, logging 75 2/3 innings. He allowed 3.33 earned runs in that time, striking out 21.7% of batters faced while issuing walks at an 8.8% clip. He earned 22 holds on the year as well as three saves.

He hasn’t been able to build off that showing here in 2024 but will perhaps be able to make a couple of appearances before the winter comes. He will qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter. His mostly lost season here in 2024 will dampen his ability to raise his salary but he is out of options, so the Reds will have to decide if they are willing to commit to the righty for next year’s club on the heels of this lengthy absence.

Nick Martinez Open To Staying In Cincinnati, Undecided On Opt-Out Clause

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Right-hander Nick Martinez is putting the finishing touches on a terrific first season with the Reds, having thus far compiled 134 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball with a 20.8% strikeout rate and superlative 3.3% walk rate. He’s signed through the 2025 season and slated to earn $12MM next season but has the right to opt out of the second season of his two-year, $26MM contract and test free agency for what would be a fourth straight offseason.

The 34-year-old righty recently told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon that he hasn’t made a decision or spoken with agent Scott Boras about his contract status while simultaneously expressing love for the Reds’ clubhouse and speaking fondly of his time in the organization. Martinez plainly stated that in spite of the opt-out opportunity, his mindset upon signing was that he was going to be in Cincinnati for multiple years. He’s bounced between starting and a variety of bullpen roles and said he’s on board with how he’s been used. He alluded to a “more delicate issue” that needs to be talked about in the offseason — a seeming nod to that looming opt-out provision and the clear reality that he’d be able to easily top the remaining one year and $12MM on his contract if he returned to the open market.

MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently took a lengthy look at Martinez’s opt-out and his ostensible comfort with going year-to-year in free agency as he continually improves his earning power. The 2011 Rangers draftee struggled through four big league seasons (2014-17) before reinventing himself in a breakout run with Japan’s Nippon-Ham Fighters and SoftBank Hawks. Since returning to North American Ball, he’s pitched three seasons between San Diego and Cincinnati, logging a collective 3.36 ERA in 351 innings. Martinez has filled virtually every role possible, working as a starter, closer, setup man, long reliever and bulk reliever behind openers.

A two- or even three-year deal should be available to Martinez this offseason, although the Reds will have some time to ponder a potential multi-year deal to keep the versatile righty from reaching free agency at all. Martinez opined that the Reds have the pieces in place to ascend to playoff contention next year and spoke glowingly about his teammates. He’s a valuable piece of the puzzle as things stand, capable of serving as a fourth or fifth starter behind Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott (all three of whom he specifically mentioned in expressing his optimism about the team’s future) or again operating as a pivotal swingman who can be called upon in any role.

Those three young arms are effectively locked into the top spots in the Cincinnati rotation. Top prospect Rhett Lowder, 26-year-old Graham Ashcraft and 23-year-old Julian Aguiar are among the other candidates for starting roles next season. The Reds could arguably use a veteran arm to help stabilize the rotation outlook, but not every viable starting option would be so amenable to being shuffled between the starting staff and bullpen as Martinez has been in recent years. It does make him a clear fit, even if his numbers are notably better in relief. The question for the Reds will be one of salary, as Martinez has pitched well enough to justifiably seek a raise over the two-year, $26MM terms to which he agreed last winter.

Cincinnati has about $27MM in guarantees on next year’s books, per RosterResource. That doesn’t include Martinez’s option, an $8MM Emilio Pagan player option or a $3.5MM club option on lefty Brent Suter that seems likely to be picked up by the team. The Reds will also have to weigh arbitration raises for Ty France ($6.775MM salary in ’24), Santiago Espinal ($2.725MM), Tyler Stephenson ($2.525MM) and Jake Fraley ($2.15MM), plus first-time arb-eligible players like Lodolo, Ashcraft, Alexis Diaz and Sam Moll.

The Suter option, arbitration raises and a slate of league-minimum players to round out the roster would put the Reds north of $60MM before even considering Martinez or any offseason expenditures. Cincinnati has opened the past two seasons with payrolls ranging from $82-100MM. Martinez could be deemed something of a luxury if ownership wants to keep payroll in that same range, though it’s not yet clear what type of payroll the club is comfortable fielding in 2025. The Reds will also be in the market for at least one veteran bat to upgrade the lineup. Adding to a bullpen could see as many as four relievers reach free agency — Martinez, Pagan, Buck Farmer, Justin Wilson — will also surely be a goal.

Reds Fire David Bell

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The Reds announced that they have parted ways with manager David Bell.  Bench coach Freddie Benavides will act as the club’s interim manager for the remainder of the season.

In a statement released to the media, president of baseball operations Nick Krall said that “David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons.  We felt a change was needed to move the Major League team forward.  We have not achieved the success we expected, and we need to begin focusing on 2025.”

Bell’s tenure ends just short of six full seasons as Cincinnati’s manager.  Three of Bell’s six seasons saw the Reds finish with a winning record — their 31-29 record in the shortened 2020 season that led to a playoff berth, an 83-win campaign in 2021, and an 82-win season in 2023.  That latter season hinted at bigger things ahead for the Reds, given how the team seemingly had an overload of young position-player talent all breaking out at the same time.  The organization even awarded Bell for his role in the Reds’ progress, as Bell was signed to a new contract extension in July 2023 that covered the 2024-26 seasons.

However, it perhaps shouldn’t be ignored that the Reds waited to give Bell a new deal until he was only about two months away from the expiration from his previous contract.  That might’ve been the first hint that the Reds’ ownership and front office was only willing to give Bell so much leeway in continuing as the club’s skipper, and the disappointing nature of the 2024 season sealed Bell’s fate.

The announcement of Noelvi Marte’s 80-game PED suspension in early March was the first sign of trouble for the Reds, and the bad news continued during Spring Training when Matt McLain had to undergo a shoulder surgery.  McLain ended up missing the entire season recovering from that surgery and then a stress reaction in his rib cage suffered during his rehab work.  Christian Encarnacion-Strand didn’t play after the first week of May due to a wrist injury that required surgery, thus leading to a lost year for yet another of the Reds’ promising young infielders.

Injuries continued to deplete the roster at other inopportune times, including a near rotation-wide slate of injuries that hit the pitching staff in August.  Beyond the injuries, other would-be cornerstones like Spencer Steer or Alexis Diaz provided only average levels of production, and offseason acquisitions like Jeimer Candelario and Frankie Montas also disappointed.

It all added up to an underwhelming season in Cincinnati, and while Bell is hardly the only culprit behind the Reds’ lack of success, the organization will now shake things up in the dugout.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (X link) has already reported that Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is under consideration to be the Reds’ next field general, and Schumaker has past ties to the club as a former Reds player in 2014-15.  Schumaker won NL Manager of the Year honors in leading Miami to the playoffs in his first year as skipper in 2023, but the Marlins’ decision to part ways with GM Kim Ng (who hired Schumaker) and then shift into rebuild mode has all but confirmed that Schumaker is leaving South Florida at season’s end.

Bell finishes with a 409-456 record over his time as the Reds’ manager.  That lone postseason appearance in 2020 ended in a two-game (and scoreless) sweep in the wild card series, and Cincinnati still hasn’t won a playoff round since the 1995 NLDS.  The pandemic’s impact on Bell’s managerial career can’t be understated, as the organizational loss of revenue over the 2020-21 seasons led ownership to suddenly change course after a payroll increase in the 2019-20 offseason, and the Reds started to heavily rebuild following their winning record in 2021.

Viewed through this lens, the Reds have done well to get back to playing competitive baseball so soon after the misery of a 100-loss season in 2022.  Krall has done well in reloading the organization with premium prospect talent, and Bell’s work in helping some of this young talent adjust to the majors shouldn’t be overlooked.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Reds take that expected next step in 2025 if the team enjoys better health and the younger players fare better with more experience under their belts, and indeed a new voice in the dugout might be a key piece in helping Cincinnati turn the corner.

Benavides is a longtime member of the Reds organization, dating back to when the club selected him in the second round of the 1987 draft.  The first two of Benavides’ four Major League seasons were played in a Reds uniform, and after retirement, he spent close to a decade working in Cincinnati’s farm system before joining the big league coaching staff in 2016.  Benavides has been acting in the bench coach role since Bell was initially hired following the 2018 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Reds Activate Hunter Greene, DFA Alan Busenitz

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve activated right-hander Hunter Greene from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start against the Pirates later today. Right-hander Alan Busenitz was designated for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for Greene. The club’s 40-man roster now stands at 39.

Greene, 25, signed a six-year extension with the Reds in April of last year that keeps the right-hander under club control through the 2029 season. His first year after signing that extension was a somewhat lackluster one as he pitched to a 4.82 ERA (97 ERA+) while being limited to just 112 innings of work by injuries. The youngster has turned things around in a big way with a breakout performance this year, however, and in doing so has become a major bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for fans in Cincinnati.

In 143 1/3 innings of work to this point in the year, Greene has posted a incredible 2.83 ERA (155 ERA+) while striking out an excellent 27.8% of batters faced. Some of Greene’s good results have been thanks to good fortune on his part, as demonstrated by a deflated .243 BABIP for opposing hitters and the fact that just 6.6% of the hurler’s fly balls have left the yard for home runs this year despite his home ballpark being the most homer-happy field in the majors. With that being said, advanced metrics are also generally impressed with Greene as demonstrated by his 3.41 FIP and 3.76 SIERA. It’s a season that could even earn Greene some down-ballot attention in NL Cy Young award voting this year, as his aforementioned sterling ERA trails only Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler among NL starters with at least 140 innings of work this year.

Whatever chance Greene may have had at the award was put to bed by a trip to the IL due to elbow soreness back in August, however. A subsequent MRI revealed no structural in a huge relief for the club, but inflammation in the hard-throwing righty’s elbow has still kept him on the shelf for more than a month. His time on the shelf has ended now, though, and with just a few games left in the regular season Greene is slated this afternoon to go toe-to-toe with another up-and-coming ace in the NL Central: Pirates righty Paul Skenes, who has posted an eye-popping 2.07 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate in 126 frames this year.

As for Busenitz, the 34-year-old righty has pitched briefly for the Reds in each of the past two seasons. In seven innings of work for the club last year, he looked quite good with a 2.57 ERA and 2.29 FIP, but things have taken a turn for the worse this year as he’s surrendered seven runs (six earned) on nine hits while striking out three across four innings of work in the majors. Things have gone better for him at Triple-A, however, where he’s posted a decent 4.07 ERA in 66 1/3 innings of work this year. Assuming Busenitz isn’t claimed off waivers, he’ll likely head to free agency either in the coming days or this November and search for a fresh minor league deal on the open market.

Reds Select Alan Busenitz

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The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Alan Busenitz. Left-hander Brandon Leibrandt was optioned in a corresponding active roster move. The club already had a 40-man roster vacancy.

Cincinnati got stomped by Atlanta yesterday, eventually losing 15-3. Starter Julian Aguiar allowed seven of those runs, lasting four innings. After Yosver Zulueta came in and allowed one run in one frame, Leibrandt entered and covered the final four, allowing another seven runs. Leibrandt threw 80 pitches in that mop-up duty and was surely going to be unavailable for a few days, so the club will swap him out for a fresh arm.

Busenitz, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason and this is the second time they have selected his contract. The first was August 23, a day in which the club deployed a bullpen game against the Pirates. He was one of seven pitchers to take the mound for the Reds that day, completing one inning but allowing four runs, three of them earned. He was designated for assignment the next day and later cleared waivers, getting outrighted back to Triple-A Louisville.

His results have naturally been much better at that level. He has a 4.07 earned run average for the Bats, often tossing multiple innings at a time, as he’s logged 66 1/3 frames in his 49 outings. His 21.6% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate are all pretty close to par.

The Reds are out of contention but Busenitz can give them another relief option as they look to trudge through the final days of the season. He is out of options, so it’s possible he could be back on the waiver wire if the club needs to adjust its pitching staff yet again. The Reds don’t have a starter announced for Sunday’s game, so another bullpen game or spot start could be upcoming.

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