CINCINNATI — With just a week left in the 2024 season, the Cincinnati Reds are already underway in their search for a new manager following Sunday’s firing of David Bell.
Nick Krall, the team’s president of baseball operations, followed up his Sunday night announcement of Bell’s dismissal Monday morning with a press conference, also announcing the firing of Jeff Pickler, the team’s infield and game planning coach. Pitching coach and director of pitching Derek Johnson is under contract for the 2025 season and “going forward,” Krall said. Krall said the decision to move on from Bell was made Sunday; he told Bell Sunday night around 6:30 p.m., before the 10 p.m. announcement.
For now, Krall said, he and general manager Brad Meador are leading the search for the next manager and that process would begin immediately, rather than waiting for the offseason.
“If we make the decision now, it allows us to meet everybody on the last road trip; it allows us to start the process and give us a week head start as opposed to waiting when you know what the decision is going to be,” Krall said.
Krall didn’t list any set of criteria, including previous managerial experience.
“We’re looking for somebody that can lead this clubhouse,” Krall said. “We’re looking for somebody who can lead this clubhouse as we continue to build through scouting and player development.”
That statement may provide a glimpse at Krall’s marching orders from an increasingly silent ownership group. The Reds spent more than $100 million in the offseason, but that netted little return from the likes of infielder Jeimer Candelario, starter Frankie Montas and reliever Emilio Pegán. Only swingman Nick Martinez, signed to a two-year deal with an opt-out, lived up his price tag; he will likely command more on the open market than the $12 million left on his deal if he were not to opt out.
That means whoever the new manager is will inherit a team with the same core as the one that underperformed and cost Bell his job.
“We’ll have to go through the offseason and see what that looks like,” Krall said of the team’s plans beyond manager. “We’re always going to be a small-market club. That’s not going to change. We’re going to bring younger players up here, draft and develop and bring those players up.”
The Reds do have some salary relief coming. Along with Martinez’s likely opt-out, several long-term contract obligations are coming off the books, including the buyout of Joey Votto’s final year of his long-term deal; the remainder of the Mike Moustakas debacle; and even the end of one of the franchise’s longest running obligations — the contract of Ken Griffey Jr., who will no longer receive checks from the Reds after nearly a quarter-century of deferred compensation.
The next Reds manager will take over a team built around the 22-year-old über-talent Elly De La Cruz, who has leapt from being an under-the-radar $65,000 signee out of the Dominican Republic to one of the game’s most recognizable faces. The switch-hitting shortstop was selected to his first All-Star Game in his first full big-league season and saw tremendous improvement at the plate in comparison to his meteoric rookie campaign.
While there will be a focus on his strikeouts (210) and errors (28) — both of which lead the National League — he is third among all NL position players in fWAR (6.5) and fifth in bWAR (5.1). De La Cruz’ strikeout rate of 31.1 percent is higher than anyone wants, but he had mitigated that with a .343 on-base percentage and a 10.2 percent walk rate. His advanced defensive metrics put him among the top defensive shortstops in the game, despite the large number of errors.
While fellow 2023 rookie Matt McLain was supposed to be the Robin to De La Cruz’s Batman, McLain finished last season on the Injured List and didn’t play at all in 2024 because of shoulder surgery after an injury suffered in spring training. He also dealt with rib injuries that slowed his return from that surgery.
First baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand was limited for much of the season with injuries, including a broken right wrist suffered in May.
Third baseman Noelvi Marte, the centerpiece of the trade that sent Luis Castillo to Seattle in 2022, was suspended 80 games after testing positive for a banned substance in spring training. Since his return from suspension, he too has underperformed, both offensively and defensively, drastically shifting the perspective of his future with the organization.
The rotation of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott and others is promising on paper, but all three have dealt with multiple injuries throughout the season and only Greene, who was activated Sunday and pitched three innings in Bell’s last game as manager, will finish the season in the rotation. Last year’s first-round pick, Rhett Lowder, has been healthy all season and been impressive in his big-league debut, sporting a 2-2 record a 1.40 ERA through his first five big-league starts.
For all its on-paper talent, the team is devoid of outfielders, with centerfielder TJ Friedl starting the season on the IL and playing most of his 80 games not at 100 percent. The team’s leader in stats in the outfield, Will Benson, showed promise as a rookie last year hitting .275, but has hit just .188 this year and has an alarming strikeout rate of 40 percent. The most consistent outfielder, Spencer Steer, had played all of nine innings in the outfield in professional baseball before 2023.
That collection of underperformance is what ultimately cost Bell his job less than 15 months removed from a three-year contract extension.
“We made the decision to extend David last season because I thought we were moving in the right direction as we promoted a younger core of players to develop in the big leagues,” Krall said. “But after reflecting on everything from this season, I decided that we need to move in another direction with the leadership in the major-league clubhouse.”
Krall also alluded to philosophical difference between the front office and Bell.
“When you look at where we were, we underperformed this year,” Krall said. “We took a lot of extra bases. We got thrown out on the bases. We did some things that we were at times a little undisciplined in what we did.”
As for just who exactly leads the charge? That’s undecided, Krall said.
“I don’t have a list at this point,” Krall said.
Krall would not give a timetable, noting the front office was still in an evaluation mode.
“We’re starting that process today, but we’re going to go through a thorough process,” Krall said. “I’d like that as soon as possible. Ideally, you make that hire. You have to hire a coaching staff afterwards. I think it’s all part of the larger process of the off-season, but you’d like to get it done as soon as you can.”
(Top photo of Bell: Ron Chenoy / USA TODAY)
