The Cincinnati Reds are bleeding cash, and not from a championship chase gone awry. No, this is a self-inflicted wound, a parade of ill-advised contracts that have left the franchise looking less like a savvy small-market contender and more like a cautionary tale in financial mismanagement.
The latest chapter? Jeimer Candelario, designated for assignment this week, still owed a staggering $24 million on the three-year, $45 million deal he inked in December 2022. His demotion is the spark, but the fire’s been burning for years, with nearly $59 million paid to players not to wear a Reds uniform. Let’s unpack this mess that shows the ineptitude of the Cincinnati Reds front office.
The Reds and The Candelario Conundrum
The Reds’ DFA move of Candelario isn’t some joke or prank. His contract and signing were just another blemish on the team’s ability to hand out the worst contracts imaginable. The Reds signed Candelario to be their foundation infielder. Still, his time in Cincinnati has been a complete failure, as he struggles both at the plate and in the field, while showing none of the value he had in Detroit, Washington or Chicago.
Now, with $24 million left on his deal, the Cincinnati Reds are cutting bait, admitting a costly mistake. It’s not just the money but the opportunity cost as well. That $45 million could’ve bolstered the rotation or secured a true impact bat. Instead, it’s a sunk cost, and Candelario’s departure is a grim reminder of the Reds’ knack for betting big on the wrong horses.
The Reds Gallery of Bad Deals
Candelario isn’t alone in this Cincinnati Reds hall of shame. The Reds have made an art form of paying players to go away, racking up a jaw-dropping $59 million in dead money. Let’s take a tour:
- Mike Moustakas: Signed to a four-year, $64 million deal in December 2019, Moustakas was supposed to bring veteran grit and pop to the lineup. Instead, injuries and inconsistency defined his time in Cincinnati. By January 2023, the Reds cut him loose, owing him $22 million to play elsewhere. Ouch.
- Shogo Akiyama: In January 2020, the Reds took a $21 million, three-year flyer on the Japanese outfielder. Akiyama’s bat never translated to MLB, and by April 2022, he was gone, with $8 million still owed: a noble experiment, but a costly one.
- Wil Myers: A one-year, $7.5 million deal in 2023 seemed low-risk. Then Myers hit .189 over 141 plate appearances, and the Reds ate roughly $3.75 million to send him packing. Low-risk? Hardly.
- Mike Ford: Last May, Ford signed for $1.3 million. Less than a month later, he was DFA’d after a .150 batting average in 62 plate appearances, costing the Reds $1.1 million. Blink, and you missed him.
- Garrett Hampson: Just last month, Hampson inked a one-year, $760,000 deal. Nineteen plate appearances later, he was DFA’d, with about $600,000 left to pay. At this point, the Reds are practically running a revolving door of regret.
This isn’t just a list of bad signings. No, it’s a continued disturbing pattern of nearly $60 million spent on players who contributed next to nothing. For a small-market team like Cincinnati, it’s a death knell.
Where’s the Talent Evaluation?
The Reds’ front office needs to quickly reflect on how it can be more effective and efficient. A team with a limited budget needs talent evaluation as its core function, yet Cincinnati demonstrates persistent misjudgment in its evaluation process.
The Reds front office provided Moustakas and Akiyama with long-term deals, despite their advanced age, with no room for mistakes. The Reds invested minimal funds in Myers, Ford, and Hampson, but these bets ultimately failed, revealing significant shortcomings in their evaluation process. The Reds signed Candelario as a stability measure, but they ignored his declining performance during the previous season.
Cincinnati needs to focus on getting the most value from its budget instead of searching for All-Stars. Cincinnati faces competition from the Brewers and Rays instead of the Dodgers and Yankees because these teams extract maximum value from their rosters. The Reds’ inability to achieve this level of value extraction is the primary reason for their struggles in the standings. Every dollar spent on players who end up on the DFA list represents money that could have been used for scouting, development, or making more innovative free agent acquisitions.
The organization faces a problem that extends beyond bad luck, as it stems from flawed evaluation and over-commitment to higher-priced veterans.
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