By Bradley Dick ’16, Perspectives Editor
As the frigid month of February ends and the buds of spring bloom, the clock springs forward an hour and baseball begins. There is not a lot of excitement in the Queen City for this year’s Reds season. Many analysts have very low expectations for this year’s team, but that’s only inspiring the team to prove them wrong.
It was only fitting that the Reds ended their worst season since 1982 with a 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 2015 Reds went 64-98, finishing 36 games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals, making them the second-worst team in the MLB. Last year’s embarrassing season was full of inconsistency and failed leadership.
In the 2014 off-season, the Reds traded away two of their best starting pitchers, Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon, in exchange for multiple prospects across both AA and AAA. These trades along with the absence of Homer Bailey—who underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow—meant that the once strong starting pitching lineup would now be made up of only two veterans, Cueto and Leake, and three rookie prospects called up from the Reds farm system a little early.
Besides the pitching inexperience, the majority of the starting lineup from the 2014 post-season run was still intact and so was their inconsistent hitting. The team struggled all season long with getting men on base, moving them over, and bringing them in.
The main difference between the 2014 and 2015 Reds was Bryan Price – the Reds’ former pitching coach – who took over as manager after the Reds released Dusty Baker following their unfortunate loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2014 NL Central Wild Card game. Price took over the Reds with no prior managerial experience. This showed throughout the season; play call mistakes, player management problems, and a serious temperament issue coupled. All this coupled with a limited vocabulary that leans heavily on the use of one four-lettered word (and it’s not “loss,” although that’s appropriate too) defined the first season of Price’s managerial career. Much like his young players, Price has a lot to prove this season.
With most players on the roster nearing or past their statistical prime and no championship in sight, the Reds front office came on the market to sell in the hopes of creating a new era of Reds baseball. It’s always tough to all but scrap a team and start fresh, but as a small market team, the Reds had no other option if they wanted to contend sometime in the near future.
After the final out in that October loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Owner Bob Castellini and General Manager Walt Jockety began working on rebuilding the team. The off-season began with a deal to send closer Aroldis Chapman to the Dodgers in return for top-tier prospects. Shortly after rumors broke surrounding this trade, reports of his involvement in a domestic violence incident also came to light. But, it was not long after this trade fell apart that the Reds began talks on another trade. This time, it was a three-way deal with the White Sox and the Dodgers that would send third-baseman Todd Frazier to the Sox in return for two promising Dodger prospects, infielder Jose Peraza and outfielder Scott Schebler. The trade went through and the Reds front office began working on their next trade, with the intention to sell second-baseman Brandon Phillips to the Washington Nationals. If successful, this trade would free up $27 million in salary over the next few years. A long-time Red, Phillips vetoed the trade. Jockety went back to the drawing board and worked up a trade to send Chapman – in the midst of a MLB review regarding domestic violence – to the Yankees for four prospects. The trade went through and the Reds dumped another $8 million in salary. The Reds then tried to trade right-fielder Jay Bruce to really end the off-season on a good note, but the trade fell through because of a failed medical examination. It seems that the Reds will be stuck with Bruce’s $12.5 million salary, but that is a small price to pay considering the Reds successfully dumped $40 million in salary during the off-season.
The Reds players reported to Goodyear, Arizona last week to officially beginning spring training. Price began the week by talking about “foundation building (and) what type of personality we want to have here.’’ He stressed the importance of player development, saying “It’s more about how we develop than if we win the World Series,’’ He also talked about the role that veterans like first-baseman and former MVP Joey Votto would have to play in developing these players.
Meanwhile, the Reds have gotten off to a good start this spring training, winning their first few games. And while they have a long way to go and a lot to prove this season, the young players are optimistic that this season will be a stepping stone to a World Series championship in the following seasons. Price must prove himself as a manger, and if he cannot develop the new players and create a winning team, the Reds front office must part ways with him and hire an experienced manager who can develop and lead the team to victory. Only time will tell whether or not the Reds’ busy off-season pays off. Let’s hope it does.
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Sources:
http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/payroll/
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/160596914/reds-trade-aroldis-chapman-to-yankees
http://www.redreporter.com/2015/12/28/10668242/cincinnati-reds-rumors-todd-frazier-aroldis-chapman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Reds
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