ORLANDO — At the conclusion of the winter meetings, Cincinnati Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said his goals for the rest of the offseason are making sure the Reds get some arms in the bullpen and figuring out how to improve the position player group.
Krall reiterated again that the Reds’ payroll in 2026 will be around the same as it was in 2025 (around $115-to-$120 million, which would give them $5-to-$10 million to spend).
“I’ve never said that we were going to extend our payroll,” Krall said. “I’ve always told you guys that where our payroll was… that’s what we were doing.”
When asked about whether the Reds were going to go above that in their pursuit of Kyle Schwarber, Krall said, “We were trying to figure out how to be creative to fit. Where that narrative came from, I’m not sure. We were trying to be creative in Year 1 to figure out how to get to that.”
Deferrals could have been a part of that process.
Going forward, the Reds’ bullpen is an undiscussed need. Emilio Pagán, Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft return. Connor Phillips is in a good spot to open next year on the big league roster after a very strong finish to 2025.
After that, it could be wide open. Nick Martinez, Scott Barlow and Brent Suter are all free agents. Also, Chase Burns finished last year in the bullpen and will go back to being a starter in 2026.
The Reds can fill some of those spots from withing. They have the most raw talent there has been in a young relief group that the team has had in the organization in years, including Luis Mey, Zach Maxwell, Lyon Richardson and Yosver Zulueta. But ultimately, each of those guys still need to prove that they can consistently throw strikes.
Sam Moll and Keegan Thompson will also be competing for spots.
Those players will be competing for spots in the spring. But there’s also a lot of value in Barlow and Suter types — guys who you can confidently spot into a specific middle relief role, bank on to cover a ton of innings and get you through games and through the season.
While the trade market around baseball is centered right now around big leaguer-for-big leaguer moves (in the mold of the Jonathan India for Brady Singer trade last year), the Reds don’t have a surplus of starting pitching depth to deal from.
While they have six great candidates for a starting spot, Chase Burns is entering his second full season as a pro and Rhett Lowder missed all of 2025. Brandon Williamson has barely pitched since 2023, and Julian Aguiar, Chase Petty and Jose Franco are more unproven.
“We’ve had a lot of these guys come up over the last few years,” Krall said. “Look at Lodolo and Hunter. They started their first year and had some really good games and some bad games. We got those guys to continue to learn and develop. That’s not nearly what he’s going to be in the future. Sometimes it’s command. Sometimes it’s tightening up a breaking ball. Sometimes it’s fastball command versus slider command. Whatever that is. You’re looking at those guys and how they can continue to develop.”
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One quote that I haven’t been able to work into a story this week.
Terry Francona said that the Reds could look to work in more off days this year for TJ Friedl, who started 148 games in center field last year.
When asked about the Reds’ center field depth, Krall raved about Blake Dunn.
While Dunn really struggled in the big leagues last year in April and May, the 27-year-old had terrific results in Triple-A between June and the end of the season.
“He really got better,” Krall said. “He took steps forward. He has speed, he can play defense in the outfield. There’s a lot of room to run with Blake. The guy has a chance to be a good center fielder. He’s got to continue to grow with what he’s doing.”
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Dusty Baker, the Reds’ most successful manager of 21st century, is able to look back fondly on his tenure with the team between 2008 and 2013.
“I look back all the time,” Baker said. “I look back every time I talk to Joey Votto. I was just texting him yesterday. He texted me back he’s in Spain. I talk to Bruce. Phillips.”
Baker continued, “They let me go one year too soon.”The Reds fired Baker after the Reds lost the Wild Card game against the Pirates in 2013.
Last year, Baker saw the Reds in person during their three-game series in Sacramento.
“The Reds have good talent, and they have good leadership,” Baker said. “They have some guys that are really educating them in the minor leagues. You see Eric Davis and of those guys, Lenny Harris, teaching these young guys how to play, that’s what we need more of, former big league players. Right now, it’s hard for them to get jobs. You need some guys that have been through the war. That’s what I admire about the Reds.”
How would Baker approach managing Elly De La Cruz?
Baker shares an old baseball line: “I don’t know what a kid doesn’t know until he (messes) something up.”
“You try to eliminate the mistakes as they make them,” Baker said. “They’re going to make mistakes. You really can’t tell how smart a guy is or how many mistakes he’s going to make until he makes the mistake. I can teach you all I can and all I want to. Until you actually do it without thinking about it or through muscle repetition, then you don’t make the same mistakes.”
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