By: David Washburn
With Pitchers and Catchers reporting very soon, and Opening Day within sight, the Super Bowl behind us… I think it is time we start getting pumped for some baseball!
*Play the catchy theme song*
Okay, relax, there is no theme song, but I am excited! Do you know why I am so excited?
It’s because I am a fan of a team that is in a city content on the “good enough” mentality.
The “just get us to the dance, but we won’t bother anybody” mentality.
Needless to say I’m a man in my mid 30’s now who doesn’t remember the last deep playoff run (1990) and anything spoke of as success afterward isn’t satisfying because I’m not old enough to appreciate what a championship looks like in… That’s right… I’m a Reds fan.
Holy canole! What a ride we have been on in Cincinnati as Reds fans!
Let’s rewind to the last Hot Stove season. Yeah the one where no one signed until right before Spring Training, and the Reds very uncharacteristically swung a major trade that accomplished 2 things.
- It acquired some star power in Yasiel Puig, a top of the rotation arm in Alex Wood, A proven veteran in Matt Kemp, and a young utility guy named Kyle Farmer who plays almost everywhere on the diamond.
- We got all of that for Homer Bailey and 2 prospects.
Reds fans endured Homer Bailey and his injury woes and awful streak for too long. His contract was an anchor and a scar on the 2010 decade. Needless to say that is in the past and he is lacing up for the Twins this year and seems to be doing okay in the AL recently. But this isn’t about what the Reds did last season, or what Homer Bailey is up to. This is about what last year’s approach led to.
After a wild offseason after 2018, this Hot Stove season has been even crazier.
It’s one thing for the small market Reds to swing a big trade. But to spend big on free agency and address their immediate needs in an effort to compete is almost unheard of in Cincinnati.
What is happening right now is special. They said they would get the pitching after a historically bad year of pitching and allowing homeruns, and they got Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark, Alex Wood, and had major contributions from Luis Castillo. They traded a slouching Puig for a struggling (but high ceiling) Trevor Bauer and go into 2020 with what has to be one of the top 5 all around rotations in the game. They also added Wade Miley to that cast. Wade Miley will be reuniting with his former pitching coach Derek Johnson from his days in Milwaukee.
But let’s talk about the NL Central and why this offseason feels particularly strong.
The team everyone is chasing in the NL Central is the St. Louis Cardinals. They lose players and seem to somehow always be in the hunt and competitive. It’s annoying from a Cincinnati fan. I imagine it’s much the same in Chicago, Milwaukee and… Who is the other team in the NL Central? Hmmmph, doesn’t matter. Anyway, the Cardinals lost Marcel Ozuna to free agency. They were in discussion to bring him back, they were pursuing Nick Castellanos, and also Shogo Akiyama. Ozuna was offered a deal by Cincinnati but he opted to go to Atlanta. Castellanos and Akiyama however, chose to go to Cincinnati. All major free agent hitters are off the table now and a trade can still happen but if the Cardinals aren’t going to land Nolan Arenado in a trade with the Rockies, I think they may have lost this offseason by largely just not being active on improving their roster. As happy as that makes me, I suspect they will still be the annoying team in the division. They have Paul Goldschmidt and breakout pitcher Jack Flaherty and can never be counted out.
In Milwaukee they have added a gang of guys to fill out their roster but nobody that makes me feel like they’ve improved. They lost Mike Moustakas who signed in Cincinnati so that’s another division rival who has lost a major piece to the Reds. Milwaukee traded Zach Davies to Arizona, and lost Yasmani Grandal to free agency also. I feel like their window is closing quickly and I look for Christian Yelich to be traded if they are out of the hunt this All-Star break. I’m not excited about their offseason.
The Cubs have lost Nick Castellanos to division rival in free agency. There is a lot of trade talk around Kris Bryant after his grievance hearing concluded. The Cubs still have a lot of star power in Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez. A new manager in David Ross. Nothing else about that Chicago team really makes me feel like they’re going to be a significant threat though. They lost Pedro Strop and he signs with a division rival (Reds). The rotation is headed by aging Jon Lester, Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks who absolutely has to be in top form for me to be convinced this rotation is formidable.
Oh! I remember now…..the other team is the Pirates. This team is a snooze-fest. They’re on the backend of a re-build. They made some pretty light and insignificant moves. I’ll try to keep it optimistic but let’s be honest, this is going to be rough. Their pitching staff is headed up by Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Chris Archer. The rotation doesn’t seem terrible. They also have Josh Bell and a bunch of other guys no one has heard of. Can I stop talking about the Pirates yet? Okay thanks!
Now to highlight what Cincinnati has done.
They have flooded their outfield with some hard decision making.
Acquiring Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama means some guys are going to be riding the bench or riding the bus to their games in the minors. The Reds placed former top prospect Jose Siri on waivers to make room for Castellanos on the roster and he was grabbed by Seattle. But we still have Jesse Winker, Scott Schebler, Phil Ervin, Nick Senzel, Aristides Aquino, Travis Jankowski, and Josh VanMeter (Who is more of a utility guy),…. Something tells me all of this depth is either to back up the oft injured Jesse Winker, or equity to trade for an upgrade at shortstop. I honestly have no idea who even starts. This outfield situation is a mess and I am sure will work itself out but I am excited about Castellanos and Akiyama coming to Cincy.
Our infield is solid! We have Eugenio Suarez, Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto and Freddy Galvis.
The offense was not on par with how well the rotation was in 2019 but the front office really made a great effort to improve in a way that Reds fans just simply aren’t use to. This offense is potentially one of the best batting orders if even half of these guys are clicking at once. But as exciting as all of those new position players with big bats are I think the real strength comes in the pitching rotation.
Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Anthony Desclafani, and Wade Miley. That is a pretty excellent 5 guys. No obvious weak-links. Bauer had some struggles last year and was dealing with injuries. This guy has an incredible work ethic and is a true student of the game though so I look for him to have a fire in his belly and turn it around.
The Reds bullpen is mostly intact also and managed to add Pedro Strop (former Cub).
So that is the snapshot and perspective of where the NL Central is at and how the Reds really took a massive step forward while the others stayed in place or took steps back.
Are the Reds a 90 win team in 2020? Are they a division favorite? I am betting yes and yes. Here is to hoping that this life long Reds fan gets to see a winning team do some winning when it matters. In the postseason.
I can smell Opening Day!