The Reds appeared to be concluding their rebuilding phase last season, as they promoted a number of enticing talents and came dangerously close to making the playoffs. This offseason, they strengthened that base by giving money to a number of free agents.
Signings to the Major Leagues
1B/3BJeimer Candelario: $45 million over three years (buyout of 2027 club option included)RHP Nick Martinez: $26M over two years; Martinez may choose to leave after 2024.R.H.Frankie Montas: $16 million in a year (including buyout of mutual option for 2025)Emilio Pagan’s RHP: $16 million over two years, with a 2024 opt-out dateCLuke Maile: $3.5 million in a year (buyout of 2025 club option included)LHPBrent Suter: $3 million for a year, including the buyout of the 2025 club optionRHP Buck Farmer: $2.25MC for a yearAustin Wynns: A one-year split contract; Wynns was subsequently cut from the 40-man roster.
Spending in 2024: $61.75MSpending total: $111.75 million
Choices of options
Team rejected a $20M option for a 1B.Joey Votto supports the $7 million buyoutTeam turned down a $4 million mutual option on C. Curt Casali in favor of a $750 thousand buyout.
Exchanges and assertions
Won OF Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Royals, only to lose to the Yankees later on waiverstraded TJ Hopkins to the Giants in exchange for cashtransferred RHP Daniel Duarte to the Rangers in exchange for moneyclaimed Bubba Thompson off Twins waivers
Prominent minor league acquisitionsP.J. Higgins, Connor Santillan, River Sanmartin, Alex Blandino, Connor Overton, Mark Mathias, Erik Gonzalez, Brooks Kriske, Hernan Perez, Connor Capel, Brett Kennedy, Bruihl, Alan Busenitz, Tyler Gilbert, Josh Harrison, Tony Kemp, and Mike Ford
Addenda
If/OfJonathan India: $8.8 million, two-year agreement to avoid arbitration
Notable defeats
Joel Stoudt, Josh Barrero, TJ Hopkins, Daniel Duarte, Joel Lively, Nick Senzel (non-tendered), Joey Votto, Harrison Bader, Curt Casali, and Nick Senzel
Despite missing out on a postseason trip in 2023, the Reds had a positive season overall. Intriguing talents such as TJ Friedl, Spencer Steer, Will Benson, Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and others made their debuts, joining the ranks of young talent already populated by Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, and Nelson Marte.
In another sense, it was also a pivotal event for the series. Apart from the fresh infusion of youth, 2023 marked the last year that Joey Votto’s lengthy deal was guaranteed. He was a Reds player for several great seasons after signing in 2012. But the latter few years weren’t particularly enjoyable, as is frequently the case with long contracts. Due to shoulder surgery, Votto missed time in each of the previous two years. Although the Reds could have retained him through a club option, it makes sense that they choose to give their younger players more playing time.
Votto is a franchise legend and one of the few reasons to watch during those difficult years, so it’s a bittersweet pivot for the club. However, he was earning $25 million a year in the last years of his contract—a substantial sum of money for a team that doesn’t usually have large payrolls. After spending some time in free agency, he recently inked a minor league contract with the Blue Jays, which includes a meager $2MM base salary should he make the team.
The Reds enjoyed one of their busiest offseasons in recent memory when Votto’s contract was off the books. Not only did their abundance of position players appear to force out Votto, but it also generated a great deal of trade rumors. With Marté, De La Cruz, McLain, and Encarnacion-Strand as the team’s projected infield, it appeared as though Steer would be moved to the outfield and India traded.
The club consistently insisted that India was not going anywhere, even in the face of ongoing speculations. Despite two seasons hampered by injuries, the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year appears to have both faith in a comeback and value in his clubhouse presence, according to the Reds. In addition to staying put, he signed a two-year contract that locked in his pay for 2025 and avoided arbitration.
It was unexpected that the team did not make a deal, but it was shocking even more that they added another infield player. They inked Jeimer Candelario to a $45 million, three-year contract with a 2027 club option. His presence further congested the infield picture, but since the Reds are not required to have a designated hitter, they are free to rotate their several infielders through that position. Additionally, Candelario provided them with some protection in case any of their young infielders experienced an injury or a sophomore slump and had to spend some time in the minor leagues.
They should have strengthened their infield in retrospect, given that Marté was recently suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. He will miss the first part of the season, but the infield appears much less packed now. Though he can play both corners, Candelario is now expected to take Marté’s role as the starting third baseman.
There was a small scarcity of catchers in the club’s mix of position players. They had three backstops in the previous season, including Luke Maile and Curt Casali. Tyler Stephenson was able to play first base on occasion and be the designated hitter as a result. Although he didn’t have the best year, at least the reduced workload kept him off the disabled list. While Casili and Maile both became free agents, Maile was re-signed by the Reds. It appears they will go to a more conventional two-catcher configuration this season because Casali signed with another team.
But pitching was the primary goal of the offseason. The 2023 team’s pitchers had a lot of ailments to deal with in addition to their lack of experience. Last season, the pitching staff as a whole outperformed just five other major league clubs with an earned run average of 4.83. The starting pitching staff of Cincy had an even worse ERA of 5.43, better than that of only the Athletics and Rockies.
Even with their current alternatives, they could have anticipated some progress. Greene, Lodolo, and Graham Ashcraft were all on the injured list previous season, and Abbott’s midseason promotion limited his innings played to 109 1/3. However, the team expanded its search for improvements this winter, not willing to settle for gains from that group alone. Prominent free agents and trade targets such as Wade Miley, Tyler Glasnow, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, Yariel Rodriguez, and Sonny Gray piqued their attention.
They didn’t appear to be very successful in such endeavors. The White Sox appeared to be asking for four or five noteworthy prospects, a sum that the Reds were naturally unwilling to pay, and as a result, the negotiations about Cease came to a standstill.
Rather, free agency provided them with a significant rotation addition. Frankie Montas has been dealing with shoulder problems for a while, so the team decided to take a chance on him as a way to make amends. He was unsteady on the mound and lost some time in 2022 due to a shoulder injury. He needed surgery in 2023, which ended up ruining the most of that season.
Giving $16 million to a pitcher with those health problems carries some risk, but if Montas can return to his former form, the deal will be a steal for just a single season. With a 3.37 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate, and 42.8% ground ball rate in 32 starts with the A’s in 2021, he was quite effective.
Additionally, the team strengthened their staff with the addition of swingman Nick Martinez, who will probably start the season in the rotation but may wind up in the bullpen as circumstances dictate. Since he has spent the last two years working in both capacities with the Padres, Cincy has more freedom to evaluate the fitness and output of players like Greene, Abbott, Lodolo, Ashcraft, and others.
The team also strengthened their bullpen in other ways in case Martinez is required in the starting lineup. By agreeing to a two-year contract with Emiliano Pagan, they took a chance. After pitching for the Twins in 2023 and recording a 2.99 ERA, he is coming off a fantastic season. However, he is a flyball pitcher who witnessed a decrease in his season-long home run to flyball ratio to 5.3%. His ERA ended between 4.43 and 4.83 in the preceding three seasons, meaning that rate fell in the 13–19% area. The move raises some red flags because Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park was the league’s most homerun-friendly venue the previous season, according to Statcast.
However, it appears that they got a great deal when they signed Brent Suter. He has pitched in five consecutive seasons with an ERA under 4.00, often doing a fantastic job of avoiding hard contact. That persisted in 2023 even after he relocated to Coors Field, a hitter’s paradise. If he had wanted to maximize his guarantee, he probably could have gotten a deal longer than a year and $3 million, but since he attended high school and grew up in Cincinnati, he might have accepted a little bit of a discount to play for his home team.On a little deal, Buck Farmer was also brought back to Cincinnati.
The club improved the floor overall in many different ways. They strengthened the already potent position player mix in addition to adding a few starters to the rotation and a few relievers to the bullpen. Given that players are still available, maybe the latest information on Marte will encourage them to return to free agency.
The unsigned Michael A. Taylor was previously associated with the club. His right-handed bat would fit in well with left-handed swinging outfielders like Will Benson, Jake Fraley, and Friedl. He can also play excellent defense. Although Marte’s suspension may give Steer and India greater opportunity to play in the infield, Steer and India are both right-handed and could be better fits for someone like Taylor.
Whatever happens, the roster appears to be solid through 2024. Even though their pitching staff had terrible outcomes last year, they were propelled by their lineup and came very close to making the playoffs. They signed Montas, Martinez, Pagan, Suter, and Farmer to improve their chances even further, but even a small adjustment could be enough to establish them as a legitimate playoff team. It would only be beneficial if Greene, Lodolo, Abbott, Ashcraft, and others made internal changes.
There is no obvious favorite in the National League Central, which is somewhat wide open. It’s obvious the Reds realized they had an opportunity this year and are attempting to seize it. Despite not making any big acquisitions, they improved the roster in a number of minor ways.