CARLSBAD, Calif. – In the past few years, the Cincinnati Reds have shifted their unofficial offseason motto from “get the pitching” to “get the hitting” to the current “align payroll with our resources.”
As Nick Krall and a small group of Reds front office staff arrived at the annual General Managers Meetings this week, the question hanging over the organization is how much payroll they’re looking to cut this winter.
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The Reds traded Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers and placed Wade Miley on waivers where he was claimed by the Chicago Cubs. Nick Castellanos opted out of the final two years of his contract and, as expected, rejected a one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer.
Next up, according to league sources, is likely activity on the trade market. Starting pitcher Luis Castillo should command heavy interest from around the league. Sonny Gray, who is entering the last year of his contract with a club option for the 2023 season, is another trade candidate.
The Reds won’t be major players in the free-agent market and will double down on the players in their own farm system – and the young players they acquire in potential trades.
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“I’ve said this 100 times: We’ve got to continue to build through scouting and player development,” Krall said. “As a small-market club, if we don’t build through scouting and player development, we’re not going to have success. We have to maintain that as our focus on building our Major League club.”
There are some Reds players who don’t carry much trade value because of their contracts, including Mike Moustakas (owed $38 million over the next two years), Shogo Akiyama ($8 million next season) and Eugenio Suárez ($35 million over the next three years). The Reds are unwilling to attach a top prospect with one of those players to make a potential trade more attractive.
The Reds traded prospects Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs to the Los Angeles Dodgers to rid themselves of Homer Bailey’s contract before the 2019 season. The Dodgers used Downs to acquire Mookie Betts in another trade and they traded Josiah Gray last summer in their deal for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.
What it means for the immediate future is the Reds are likely taking a step back competitively in 2022. They’ve lost their most productive pitcher (Miley) and player (Castellanos) from last season, and they won’t be aggressive shoppers on the free-agent market.
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“We’re in a small market and we have to keep as many assets as possible,” Krall said of keeping top prospects. “Maximizing our assets should be at the big-league level for us, not for just moving things around. We have to make better decisions with regards to the Major League level.”
As the Reds emphasize their own farm system, they spent the beginning of the offseason restructuring parts of their player development staff. Pitching coach Derek Johnson is the new director of pitching after the club moved on from Kyle Boddy. Casey Weathers, who has a Driveline background and pitched under Johnson at Vanderbilt, was promoted to co-pitching coordinator alongside Bryan Conger.
It’s not a major shift in pitching philosophy. The Reds believe Johnson is one of the best pitching minds in the sport. When the Reds promoted Weathers, their Arizona rehab coach for the last two years, they sought a second coordinator who could complement Conger in different areas.
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“You’ve got one guy that is going to bring a little bit more art and you’ve got one that is going to bring a little bit more science in those two roles,” Krall said. “They’re going to work collaboratively and together in everything they do. They’ll have some differences in roles whether it’s one person oversees the player plans, one person oversees the daily pitching schedule. They will divide the responsibilities based on what their strengths are and bringing both of them in together, it allows us to accentuate strengths of each person.”
The hitting side is still a work in progress. The Reds are underway in interviews for an assistant hitting coach after Joe Mather was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks as their lead hitting coach. They’ll have a new minor-league hitting coordinator too after parting with C.J. Gillman at the end of the season.
Once the Reds hire an assistant hitting coach, they’ll determine if it’s a similar structure as the pitching side.
“We’re working through it,” Krall said. “I don’t want to say we’re going to pigeonhole one person in here because we could’ve hired an assistant pitching coordinator. Instead, both of the pitching guys work really well together, and they’ve got different skill sets. Putting them in this role makes the most sense.”
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As the Reds double down on their farm system, they are pleased with the talent they added through the draft and international signings. Elly De La Cruz, a 19-year-old infielder from the Dominican Republic, is a Top-100 prospect in the sport, according to FanGraphs. Yerlin Confidan, an 18-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic, was named the Arizona Complex League’s MVP. Daniel Vellojin, a 21-year-old from Colombia, may be the top catching prospect in the organization.
“For a long time,” Krall said, “we didn’t have as much success outside of the Cuban market as we should have.”
It may be a couple of years before the Reds see dividends at the Major League level from their recent drafts and international signings, but that’s their focus as they shed payroll this offseason.
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