Cincinnati Reds Should AGGRESSIVELY Purse POWER Upgrades to Lineup | Nick Krall Has Options

We got Nick Crawl’s shopping list as he gets ready to head to the hot stove store. We’re going to start laying it out today. [Music] You are Locked on Reds, your daily Cincinnati Reds podcast, part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome in to Locked on Reds. Locked on Reds is part of the Locked On podcast network. We are your team every day. My name is Stephen Offenbaker. His name is Jeff Carr. We have a combined 14 seasons of experience covering the Cincinnati Reds in podcast form. We love baseball. We love the Reds. And we love talking about those things, especially talking about them with you on today’s show. The Reds have a very long to-do list this off season. And we will begin to lay out what that looks like on today’s podcast. We’re also going to look at what they need to do, why there should be room in the budget to do it to make the moves that they need to make. We’re also going to dive into a different kind of reds moves a little bit later, talking about who the Reds should possibly uh cut, who they should get rid of, which arbitrations they should decline. We’re going to get into all of that on today’s show that’s brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’re going to get $300 in bonus bets back to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app today. All right, Jeff, we got to get into this. We’re going to start talking about Nick Crawl’s shopping list, as it were. The the items that they must have this off season, and it begins once again, top of the list, the Reds need a power bat. Absolutely. It’s it’s far far past due. I mean, a couple of years now that we’ve been talking about this and this year it really came to a head because they were good enough to make it to the playoffs, but it was clear they needed that to get past that first round because if they had some power, I believe that series would have been different. They would have come up with the big hit and they would have been able to get past the Dodgers who their their bullpen was just begging for the Reds uh to beat them, but they couldn’t because they couldn’t come up with that big hit. I find this intriguing, Steve, because one ESPN writer believes that the Reds are going to get to work this uh season. Bradford Doolittle said, “The Reds will get aggressive. No, they won’t go wild, of course, but besides having a contention worthy rotation and a star in LA de la Cruz who is edging toward his prime, they have a 66-year-old future Hall of Fame manager in Francona who isn’t going to be around forever. And I believe, as much as you and I talk about this all the time, that the front office understands the assignment this off seasonason. I believe that they will. I believe they will go out and make the moves that they need because they cannot be sitting here for 162 games, 164 games if you count the two wild card games in 2025 and understand that they can just roll into next year with the exact same roster. They’ve got to fix a few things and the first thing has got to be that dude in the middle of the order. Yeah. You said something during show prep uh as we were getting ready to record today that I think bears repeating and that is aggressive does not mean that they’re going to spend New York Mets money. Aggressive does not mean that they’re going to spend Los Angeles Dodgers deferral money. What aggressive means is they’re going to go out there and actually for a change pursue needs. Now, we’re going to get into this here in a minute. There are power bats available that aren’t named Kyle Schwarber, but that could be very, very useful in this Red’s lineup and that could be affordable for a Red’s club that is probably going to have its payroll come in in the same vicinity that it was in last year. But there’s a lot of money coming off the books and we’re going to get into some of some of who those guys are coming up in a little bit. So aggressive doesn’t mean that they’re going to sign $400 million worth of contracts. Aggressive means that Nick Crawl is going to put a big effort into getting that power bat, addressing that bullpin, getting this team situated to be better than the twoame playoff series that it got. Yeah, it’s not going to be Mo the show, but like their need is clear and it’s something that Bradford Doolittle had outlined in his article talking about, you know, teams that have been eliminated from the postseason, what it’s clear that they need this off seasonason. when he was talking about the Reds, he was like, “The home run disparity has got to change. They got to flip that next year.” Last year, Steve, the Reds actually allowed 25 more home runs than they hit. And there were only four teams in baseball that were worse than them. Spoiler alert, none of them were in the playoffs. And then the the crazier part about that was they were out homerred at home by 18. That is just absolutely unacceptable. They cannot go in to 2026 and go, “Gosh golly gee, ho home, let me kick some rocks and say, you know what, the homers, they’ll just happen here. Let’s go get somebody that can do that.” Because there are people out there. There there’s definitely options on the trade market. None of which are like super obvious, but the Reds could make a deal there. But there are options on the free agent market. At least according to spot track, these are some guys that are going to be available because yeah, Kyle Schwarber’s available. And if you saw the clip last night after the Phillies were eliminated by the Dodgers, he was tearful about, you know, all of his good times there in Philadelphia. And it sort of felt like a goodbye a little bit. Like he doesn’t believe he’s going to be with the Phillies next year. I’ll believe it when I see it. I think the Phillies are going to back up the Brinks truck trying to keep them. But at the same time, he even understands that there’s going to be some teammates that won’t be there anymore because they’re an older team that a lot of those guys are going to go elsewhere. Some might retire, some might go to other teams, things like that. They’re they’re the end of their current team’s picture is over, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s gone. And then you’ve also got some other guys like Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman and Pete Alonzo that there’s going to be some Rams fans that are sitting around ringing their hands just like why aren’t we getting these players? They’re too expensive for this. Right. Those those names you just rattled off. That’s the That’s the top tier of the the homer hitting, power hitting outfield market. That’s the top tier. That’s not the pool that Nick Craw is going to be swimming in. That That’s not He’s not even dipping his toe. those guys. But we’d be shocked. But Nick Crawl is not even as dipping his toe in the water to see if it’s hot or cold. He’s not He’s not even allowed to go over there. You know, you have to be this tall to ride the ride. Nick Carl’s not that tall. You can’t go over there. So, he’s going to be going for the next tier, the next group, which has some interesting names and a couple guys that we lobbyed for the last two years for the Reds to go get. And here they are. They’re free agents. They’re available. And now is the time for Nick Crawl to strike. Yeah, we talked a lot about Tyler O’Neal the last couple of years. He’s back on the free agent market. We talked a little bit about a guy and I’ve been hot and cold on this guy, but I think he would look he would do well at Great American Ballpark, especially in the middle of the Reds order and Marcelo Zuna. I think there’s a big bounceback candidate that the Reds could look at and Reese Hoskins. And then there’s also an interesting dude that I don’t know that he would do anything but play DH and and I think Reese Hoskins could play a little bit of first base as well. They probably would sign him with that in mind, but he mostly played DH. Marcela Lazuna would mostly play DH. He’s a horrible outfielder defensively when he’s played there the last couple of years. And Josh Naylor is another name to look at, but again, DH only in this. The only guy that we mentioned that I feel confident about playing defense is Tyler O’Neal. But outside like all of those guys, at least according to spot track are more in the price range, we’ll get into that here in just a little bit of what you would expect Nick Crawl to do. And before anybody says, “Oh my gosh, how could Locked on Reds advocate for the fact that the Reds don’t go after Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker?” It’s because we’re not lobbying for that. We just understand realism when it comes to off season and where the Reds aim. Remember a few years ago when Nick Castanos became a free agent, the Reds didn’t even make him an offer, not because they hated him, but because they knew it was going to be so much lower than what the Phillies were going to offer. Yeah. You know, there’s there is a school of thought of if your offer if you know already that your offer is just going to be met with a laugh and and and humiliation, you you maybe just make that offer. You’re wasting your own time. That That’s correct. Look, I’m I I I love that Tyler O’Neal’s back in the picture. We spent a lot of time talking about him. I like Tyler O’Neal. I think he’d be a good fit in Cincinnati. I think that his defense, if you think about what the alternative might be, which is a platoon that involves Lux out in the outfield, that involves more playing time for Spencer Steer in the outfield, then suddenly Tyler O’Neal’s defense is not all that bad. So, I I I could I could live with Tyler O’Neal. Uh I I love that he’s back in the conversations. I think the Reds have an opportunity here to maybe get in on somebody they missed out on a couple years ago. I agree. But it’s clear that the Reds need power. And thinking about what the Reds need brings up the question of what the Reds have, which should at the very least be termed some flexibility. There’s still some time left to take advantage of this great offer over on FanDuel. New users can download the app, create an account, and your first $5 wager that wins can get you $300 in bonus bets. You can put that this week on the Bengals. Joe Flacco’s in town, and the Bengals have an overunder of total team points at 14 a half as they head to Green Bay and Micah Parsons. And 14 and a half sounds like a lot, but hey, Joe Flacco, I think he’s better than Jake Browning. Maybe we’ll see. Anyway, you can head on over to FanDuel and put $5 down on that. Either way, over or under 14 and a half points on the Bengals scoring. I really don’t have a strong feeling either way. So, whatever you pick is probably the right pick. That’s over on FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app today. Create an account. Your first $5 way to the wins will get you $300 in bonus bets. Thank you for making Lockdown Reds part of your everyday routine. If you are not a Locked on Red’s Everyday, what are you doing? Hit that subscribe button right now on YouTube and on your favorite podcast app. We would love to have you because our everydayers are awesome and we’ll be with you every day throughout the off season. All right, Steve. So with all of this being said and needs and and go get things and all this other stuff, there’s definitely the question of financial flexibility because we are talking about a ball club that as much as we would love to stand on a table and say go get what you need and fix your roster holes and things like that, we know it’s about the spreadsheet and we know it’s about the bottom line and we know it’s about the money. But at least for right now, according to Spot Track, it kind of looks like there’s some flexibility. It does. It begins with a big chunk, right? It’s very easy to look at this and identify that there’s $21 million dumping into the available funds pot, and that is Nick Martinez. Um he’s not getting he he’s not going to be here next season. Um there’s there’s too many needs, too much things to address. Nick Nick Martinez is going to go out and make some money elsewhere. Um, you know, I’m not saying we don’t like Nick Martinez, just, you know, we’re gonna try, Jeff. We’re gonna try something new this off seasonason. We’re gonna try something different, me and you. We’re gonna try to speak from a place of realism when we talk about what we want this team to do. We’re not going to go get everybody all excited about Kyle Schwarber when you and I both know that the Reds aren’t going to go sign Kyle Schwarber. We’re going to talk I didn’t get enough coffee for this. We’re we’re going to talk about real stuff and real stuff is Nick Martinez is going to be gone. $21 million goes back into the pot. Now that that all that $21 million is not all free and clear. There’s some things we’re going to talk about in arbitration numbers. There’s some things we’re going to talk about in guys they’ve got to sign that’s going to spend some of that money, but it’s not going to spend all of it. You go down the list more. Austin Hayes is making $12 million. There’s somebody that segment if they pick up the mutual option. So there’s money to be had. What that means is that Nick Crawl has to be aggressive and also thrifty. He has to go out and find the guys whose contracts are going to land in the sweet spot. And if he does this right, we talked about that outfield group in the last segment. Austin Hayes has a $12 million mutual option. Now, the Reds could pick that up thinking that they saw enough flashes from him when he was right that it would be worth running it back. I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do. But if they decline that option and they free up that $12 million, you could almost take that $12 million dollars and get two of the outfielders that we talked about being in that secondary group, the not flashy but useful group. The Reds could almost go get two of those guys and have a new DH and have a Tyler O’Neal playing in the outfield. And that’s two guys adding pop to this lineup that desperately desperately needs it. You know, they have to be creative. They have to do things differently. They have to do things smarter than just writing a check because look at how writing a check worked out for Steve Cohen and the New York Mets. Yeah. Yeah. No, you’re not you’re not wrong there. And look how it worked out for the Reds with Jranderio and Mike Makis. And yeah, didn’t think we’d bring up those names on today’s podcast. But can we call can we call Nick Crawl the super couponer? Maybe that’s what we should call him. He should be the super couponer because those people still get what they need. It’s just they show up to the store with like a stat full of coupons about that high. I I’m not saying anything one way or the other about it. If you like being a super couponer, you know what you’re doing. I’ve seen some folks really get some good stuff doing that. But as it stands, spot track says that there’s like 57 million right now that is spent, is spoken for for the Reds. And then whenever you add in projected arbitration numbers and all this other stuff, that number doubles to 114 million. The Reds aren’t going to do that. They’re they’re not going to just go ahead and keep everybody on that list. There’s going to be some moves that they make and there’s going to be some because you and I think we both agree that the budget’s going to come in somewhere between 115 and 120, right? That’s that’s probably the payroll number, right? Yeah. If if everything goes the fans way, maybe 125, maybe maybe Bob authoriz. But yeah, right. Like that’s that’s the number, right? That that’s about what we’re looking at here. And and because of that, there are some values that you can ascribe to different guys that spot shark has for some available free agents. Here’s the reason why we are telling you right now that we’re not saying that it can’t happen. We’re not saying that it’s impossible. We’re not even saying that we don’t want it to happen. But we’re telling you what’s most likely to happen. What’s most likely to happen is that the Reds don’t get Kyle Schwabber, Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonzo, or Alex Bregman. Because according to spotra and these are estimates they could be higher they could be lower but spottrack estimates that per year Kyle Schwarber is going to command about $24 million per year. Kyle Tucker is going to command about 40 million per year. Cody Bellinger about 30 million. Pete Alonzo 30. And Alex Bregman 25. All of those guys are outside of what we would perceive. Look, I would be shocked. And I’m not saying there’s a 0% chance, but I’m saying that percentage chance ain’t greater than one. It’s like a between zero and 1% chance that the Reds sign any of those guys. As much as I want Kyle Schwarber to be a Cincinnati Red next year, I just don’t see it. But those other guys we talked about, the Ozunas, Josh Naylor, O’Neal, Hoskins, those guys, the number is much more palatable for Nick Crawl and the super couponing that he’s about to do this off season. Yeah. Um, the other piece of it, we we’ve been talking money, right? We were saying money, money, money, money, money. Number of years, length of contract. That’s another that’s another factor, another thing to look at here. Um, Kyle Schwarber is going to be looking for his very last major league contract. This will be his last big year. And he deserves he deserves a big one. He deserves a lot. Pet Alonzo is going to be looking for his last contract, his final major league deal for sure. All of the guys in that A tier group are going to be looking for those the the longest contract possible to make it as easy as possible for them to never have to go through free agency again. That’s what those guys are looking for. those other names we talked about, those guys we’d be okay with much shorter deals. You know, Ozuna is not going to be asking for a 10-year deal. Uh Tyler O’Neal’s not going to be asking for a 10-year deal. Uh they’re they’re more palatable in in length of deal in addition to the dollar numbers. So, you you got to take both of those things into account when you’re talking about can the Reds go after that guy? Because yeah, sure. You could say, “Okay, we’re going to take every dime of free available money. We’re going to give it to Kyle Schwarber, and that’s all we’re going to do. That’s that’s the offseason move.” Okay, cool. But the Reds aren’t going to agree to the five-year deal that Kyle Schwarber is going to be asking for uh to tie up that money for. The Reds simply aren’t. I think the limit’s three. Yeah, I would be shocked if it’s more than three. Yeah, I agree. And I think it’s more likely two. I I think if you were to put a a wager uh with our friends over at FanDuel down on how long a contract the Reds would sign a free agent this offseason, I don’t think they would sign a guy for any more than three. And if I had to pick a certain number of years, I would say they sign a a guy for a two-year deal. Now, if they go for a guy like Ree Hoskins, they could probably get him on a prove it deal because there’s a really good chance that Ree Hoskins is looking for that so that he could raise his value next year. Of course, we know how well that went with Austin Hayes this year. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t as good as we hoped. But Reese Hoskins has the kind of power that really makes you wonder about this. And this is the reason that I also looked at something else because I and like I told you I baseball reference has a thing where they look at a guy’s career production and they base that or they use that to do a 162 game season for that guy and they say, “Okay, if this particular player based on what he has done in his career were to play 162 games, this is how many home runs you could expect.” For Kyle Schwarber, of course, it’s astronomical. 43 homers in 162 game season. Kyle Tucker 31, a little bit less, but still really good hitter all around. Cody Bellinger 32, Pete Alonzo 42. Obviously, these guys make up the top tier of the free agent market. So, those numbers are going to be great. And these other guys that we’re talking about, Ozuna, Naylor O’Neal, and Hoskins, those guys are probably well below that, right? Maybe not because Marceluna, according to baseball reference, in 162 games, you can expect about 30 homers. That’s pretty good. And I would love to sign that up for this lineup right now. Reese Hoskins at at what spot track is valuing around $7 million for Reese Hoskins. Baseball reference says in a 162g game season, you could expect around 34 home runs from Ree Hoskins. Sign me up for that right now. I think that I think that would be an amazing bounce back. And that might even be more at Great American Ballpark, right? And Tyler O’Neal’s projected home run total again was 30 home runs in 30 home runs. that the most that entire bottom group, right? If you add 60 home, if you could get two of those dudes and add 60 home runs is and then whatever Ellie does line up and then whatever Ellie does and whatever Tyler Stevenson, if he’s around, whatever he does, if if Matt Mlan, you know, you you can you can factor in the ifs, but those other guys, you you you’re adding that production to the lineup and you’re making it easy. making it easier for those other guys to get right because it takes some of the pressure off. Oh, yeah. Right. Yep. No, exactly. And I I think there’s for those guys to for those guys to be added though, for the Reds to go out and add those guys, cuts are going to have to be made. For for the Reds to go out and spend, they are going to have to move money around. There are guys that are going to lose their job. And coming up, we’re going to talk about who the Reds should cut. What do you get when you have a bald eagle standing on top of a silverback gorilla riding a T-Rex? You get confidence. 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We’re pretty much on every single podcasting app that’s out there. If you find one we’re not on and you need us on it, message Jeff. He can almost certainly make it happen for you. All right, Jeeoff, let’s get into this because there are some guys that uh are due to make some arbitration money that it just probably doesn’t make sense for the Reds to pay that money to. And there are some names on that list. There are some guys that you and I agree probably don’t get their deals picked up that at least in one case is going to make you a little sad. Yeah, we’ll get to him in just a minute though because I think that the easiest thing that the Reds can do right now is that they don’t pick up the mutual option with Austin Hayes and that they trade Brady Singer. You do that, you cut $25 million off of your expected payroll for next year and you take that 25 and you put that toward upgrades where I think Brady Singer’s spot is already spoken for in the rotation. He did an awesome job this year. But if you’re putting him up against the talents of Burns and Louder and and um and and the other guys that are in this rotation or at least should be in this rotation next year. I just don’t know how he beats one of those guys out. So I I would expect that the Reds make a trade here to use that money elsewhere where they can improve the lineup. And and and I think that’s an easy an easy 25 million that you can reallocate just right off the bat. Yeah, I agree. I agree with all that. Um, it it’s it’s not uh I don’t know. It’s not fun, but it it’s probably what needs to happen. Brady Singer is a a $12 million. Was it $12 million his number? 13 million. $13 million. That’s a $13 million luxury. When you look at a projected rotation of Green, Lollo, Abbott, Burns, Louder, that that’s your projected fiveman rotation really. and keeping Singer around. I think that’s a luxury where they could allocate those resources differently. Um there’s other guys that while it’s not a large amount of money, it’s money that it doesn’t make sense picking up. And I think that’s where we’ll start the conversation of your guy because Will Benson is on this arbitration list. His magic arbitration number is projected to be what, Jeff? 1.5 million. And I think they don’t pay that. I think they they decline that. Maybe they negotiate a deal with him for less money, but I just I don’t see that they’re going to pay the 1.5 million when they could decline that and put that towards the pool of money to go get two of those free agent outfielders in that B-group we talked about. Yeah. You you’re talking about there’s there’s really three guys that if they if they get rid of them, you can about see what’s that six five million uh total. I think you could reallocate about 5 million when you get rid of Will Benson, Ian Jabbo, and Sam Maul and because Ian Jabbo is about 1.4, Sam Maul’s about 1.25. And then you could even bump that up to like seven or eight uh by letting go of Santiago Espanol because quite frankly, if we’re looking at Santiago Espanol and Will Benson on the bench this next year, that means that the Reds really didn’t do anything this offseason and that is unfortunate. Yeah, those those roster spots is really the the valuable part of that conversation. And you know, looking at all of those things, the the bullpen that they’re going to have to go get, the help that they’re going to need. The Sam Maul thing is easy because I think he gets replaced by Brandon Williamson. I think Brandon Williamson becomes that left-hander down in the bullpen replacing Sam Maul. So, I think that’s an easy one. Those are all those all feel very no-brainer to me, Jeff. It should should should should should I want to have more angst about it? I don’t know because I don’t I feel like yeah, all those guys can go. I I’m fine. I I mean, think about think about what this would mean. I don’t think that they’re picking up this mutual option for Austin Hayes. And if they trade Brady Singer, and then if they say goodbye to Will Benson, Ian Jabbo, Sam Maul, and Santiago Espanol, who I think of those of that group, the the most talented player that you would hate to lose is Brady Singer, you would expect to upgrade on Austin Hayes anyway. And Will Benson personalitywise is awesome. But as much as I love the dude, there’s definitely some questions about the productivity and the fact that he gets taken out in a playoff game with two strikes. So, I I think that there a lot of that you you put that all together, Steve. You say you you don’t save, you reallocate over $30 million. Well, and I think there’s a possibility I can get you seven more. And it’s not it’s not fun. Here’s the one that hurts me. Here’s the one that does cause me the angst, Jeff, because Tyler Stevenson is well within the window of they got to sign him or they got to trade him. and his arbitration number $7 million. And we know how he reacted when the Reds made their approach last season about a potential contract extension. I think Tyler Stevenson will be on the shopping block. I don’t know that they’re going to get a deal done for him, but I think they’re going to be shopping him with the idea that Jose Trevinho is your catcher. Uh, and then uh you go from there. Yeah, defensively I feel good about that. I mentioned yesterday, I don’t love it in the lineup though, but I mentioned yesterday about that contract idea with Tyler Stevenson. Like what are your thoughts about that? Because I said like as as we heard the report that he was so unenthused about the offer, he didn’t even like give them a counter. Do you think that they bridged that gap this off season? Because that feels like they’re so far apart. It’s almost as if they were better off not even talking to him yet. I wish we knew what the offer was. Nobody has ever even really speculated at what the number was. Tyler basically just dismissed it as it was ridiculous. Um, but you ask yourself, do you want to keep Tyler Stevenson bad enough that you’re willing to say take the 7 million you were already going to owe him and double it? Because I think that’s what it would take to get him to sign a deal. You’d have to give him 14. And he’s not I don’t think he’s taking less than three years like I don’t either. I don’t either. It’s probably going to be ready before probably like a three to five year deal. Three like option option four option something something like that. But you know the the $14 million number would you be good with that with what we’ve seen from him the last few years? Would you be willing to double that money and and go knowing what a catcher that can hit? Because when he hits, he hits. A catcher that can hit could bring you a pretty good return in a trade market. So that is the number that is freed up by getting rid of Espanol Benson, Jabbo, and Maul, right? Let’s let’s say you take that that money and you just add that on top of what Tyler Stevenson will call. I’ I’d give Tyler Stevenson a three-year 14 million deal. I And I really wouldn’t have and I wouldn’t have any 14 per 14. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I would not have any I would have no qualms about that. I would wonder I would wonder a little bit if he would take that because think about from his perspective and this is the hard part about the the negotiation part of this. He is 30 or he’ll be 30 uh next year. So next August. Um if he were to sign a three-year deal now, that means that he is hitting free agency after he’s 32. Mhm. there’s a really good chance you’re not getting a major deal at that point. So, I think what he’s looking for right now is the major deal, which might that might be really difficult for the Reds and that might be where the whole Rays business decision. And I think that, you know, that’s going to be the hard part because Nick Crawl’s got to know the fan base is not going to react kindly to that. But what does the super couponer in him say to that sort of an idea? That’s going to be kind of the key here because I I would love to see Tyler Stevenson be a career red, but at the same time, that also means that Alfredo Duno, where’s he go? I I can’t I can’t see any lane to Tyler Stevenson career red. I I I just don’t see it. And that might be what we’re talking about here. I I don’t know that a three-year deal gets it done. Maybe it does. and maybe you buy out one or two years by adding a couple million more per year on there, but then you’re talking about 1617 million a year and then he is the highest paid red at least for right now until you sign somebody else out off the free agent market. And I don’t know that they sign a free agent that’s more expensive than he is. But I I think that he has earned it. But on the same on the other side of that coin is do the Reds make sense to do something like that? And I don’t know that the answer’s yes. And that is where we’re going to wrap it up for today. We’ve got lots more offseason content coming your way, folks. We’re going to be with you all the way all the way to spring training. Uh we’re going to be right here talking Cincinnati Reds baseball, talking about what they’ve done, what they could do, what they should do, and then we’ll be talking about what Nick Crawl actually finally ultimately does. We’re going to gather up all that stuff and bring it right back here. We’re going to give you all of the news, the notes, the reports, the rumors, all of it. We’re going to bring it back here and keep you locked on reds every single day. I once saw a super couponer buy like 50 toothbrushes at Walmart. Just crazy. Got the cleanest teeth in the world now. I’m sure of it. Well, the Red’s version of that is Journeyman Middle infielders.

The Cincinnati Reds’ offseason strategy takes center stage as the team should be seeking a power hitter to boost their lineup. Budget constraints and potential free agent targets are analyzed, with Tyler O’Neill, Marcelo Ozuna, and Rhys Hoskins emerging as realistic options. Steven Offenbaker and Jeff Carr explore creative roster moves to free up funds, including possible cuts like Will Benson and Ian Gibaut. They dissect projected stats for potential acquisitions and debate Tyler Stephenson’s future with the team. Get the inside scoop on the Reds’ offseason plans – listen now to shape your expectations for the 2024 season!

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25 comments
  1. What are your thoughts on the affects of the free agent and trade market with the looming collective bargaining agreement after this upcoming season? Do teams spend more in the hopes of winning before a potential lockout or do they hunker down and wait to see where the dust settles?

  2. We lost against the Dodgers because we gave up 10 runs and then 8 runs. If our pitching shows up, 4 or 5 runs is enough. Maybe if we didn’t cycle all 14 pitchers every game.

  3. I still think Nick Krall has a gift for finding mid level talent in trades. If he really wanted to get power hitting outfielders, I think we have the trade pieces. May not know the names, but I believe he can spot hidden gems.

  4. This off season is one of the most important for this franchise for many reasons.The sense of urgency have to be there because they have so many players on their 40 man roster that are at a crossroads in their reds and mlb careers.Francona know the finish line is near. The NL Central is going to be highly competitive with the Brewers Cubs and Cardinals as the main competition.The Pirates have a lot of work to do to compete.Nick Krall Brad Meador and the upper management is going to have be creative with their finances that are available to them to deal with free agency trade market and salary arbitration.This will go a long way to define the orginization's legacy and preception around the league as a serious contender.

  5. Some people already thinking that the Reds somehow get like a Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso but I don't see that happening to where the FO, ownership don't spend the big money to go after those type of players. I would want to see them try to trade for someone like a Brent Rooker, Taylor Ward, or at least someone that have some pop in their bat which the Reds need in my opinion. I don't see the Reds getting FA's. They certainly need to improve the offense there especially with their situational hitting and need to make consistent contact. I got tired of seeing the amount of strikeouts this lineup had during the season especially with runners on base and hit into DP's ugh. So I hope that they don't stand pat this off-season so at least try to go after good hitters to improve the lineup to make the opposing pitchers fear them some.

  6. Let’s be real. The reds didn’t make it to the playoffs bc they’re a good team. They made it bc of the extra wild card and another team falling apart. One power hitter is not going to make a difference. It just won’t.

  7. Let me say it again. Please look at our players' 2025 power stats compared to their careers. With the exception of Marte, all of the guys that played under both Bell and Francona dropped off in power numbers. Valaika's approach is severely limiting power. This is simple objective fact. It will do no good to bring in new power bats if coaching is just going to ruin them.

  8. Signing Schwarber for 4 years at $25 mil/yr would be amazing. Letting Singer and Hays go would free that money up for next year. He'd obviously be a force in the middle of this lineup, hit 60 bombs at GABP and put fans in the seats. We signed Moustakas to 4 years and $64million 6 years ago. They could certainly afford that for Schwarber

  9. If they add Hoskins or Ozuna they would absolutely have to be adding another guy as well. Neither of those guys move the needle enough.

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