PITTSBURGH –– Before the Cincinnati Reds front office makes decisions on the team's upcoming team options, before they approach Nick Castellanos’ opportunity to enter free agency and before the Reds finalize a plan for free agency, general manager Nick Krall said the Reds need to determine their budget for the 2022 season.
Krall said the organization’s first step in the offseason will be finalizing the 2022 budget, which will be based on the team's revenue.
“How we use our money at the end of the day, that’s going to depend on where we are from a budget standpoint,” Krall said. “That’s going to be first and foremost, and over the next couple weeks, we’ll have that set. Then we can go forward.”
Krall said he didn’t have any set expectations for how much the budget could change, but the Reds payroll in 2022 could decide the competitiveness of next year’s team.
The Reds have a $10 million option on starting pitcher Wade Miley and a $7.5 million option on catcher Tucker Barnhart. If the Reds lose either of them, they will have to replace their important roles on the roster.
