Lost in the big market hype of the remarkable season the Baltimore Orioles are having is the story of the Cincinnati Reds. A team picked to finish last in its division and to lose close to 100 games, by many preseason publications and predictions, is in the thick of the National League Wild Card race as we enter mid-September.
Considering where the franchise is, and where it was just a year ago, the story of the overachieving Cincinnati Reds exemplifies the hope and scrappiness that springs eternal in America’s pastime.
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Entering play Sunday, the Reds (78-72) are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final National League Wild Card berth. Cincinnati is 6-4 over their last ten games with a favorable end-of-season schedule — their final 12 games come against teams below .500.
It’s a remarkable about-face for a franchise with a deep history of winning but a recent history of ineptitude.
Just last season, the son of team owner and CEO Robert Castellini, Phil, When pressed during a radio interview on Opening Day about the team for the second consecutive year trading away its young talent at the trade deadline, the son of team owner and CEO Robert Castellini, Phil Castellini, bluntly told fans to stick it and threatened to move the team.
“Well, where are you gonna go?” Castellini said. “Let’s start there. Sell the team to who? … What would you do with this team to have it be more profitable, make more money, and compete more?”
Consider this: The Reds traded Tucker Barnhart, Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez, Tyler Naquin, Amir Garrett, Tommy Pham, and Brandon Drury — all within 12 months. The core of a young and improving team was suddenly shipped out and hope seemed lost
Then Castellini stoked the flames of disappointment already burning in the Queen City.
Cincinnati Reds fans stay away in 2022
The Reds languished on the field and at the ticket booth last season. Their attendance dropped by nearly eight percent in 2022 as the team drew an average of 17,477 fans to Great America Ballpark. Cries for Castellini to sell the team grew louder, with some fans even buying billboards calling out the ownership.
But for all the anger, angst, and frustration, baseball people could see the Reds minor league pipeline was full and several key prospects were on the cusp of being ready for their call to The Show.
Yes, they unloaded salary in 2021 and 2022 but kept restocking in the minors.
When the Reds hit spring training earlier this year, they said they would be relying on young talent but were optimistic about the team’s chances. The team and manager David Bell, who was given a three-year contract extension in July, committed to fielding a team with rookies Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, Spencer Steer, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. That youth movement, and talent for the price, is what has driven the Reds to be in contention for the postseason.
“These guys are just doing what it takes to win games,” Bell said after one of the Reds league-leading 45th come-from-behind wins. “They all come to the park each day doing what they must do. It’s come together nicely and they believe in one another.”
Fans have noticed this season as attendance is back up, with an average of over 25,000 fans a game and closing in on 2 million for the season.
Working with what you have
A big part of the Reds resurgence is the play of three key rookies – De La Cruz, McLain, and Steer – all of whom are squarely in the race for National League Rookie of the Year honors.
“We had some unknowns coming in. We had some unknowns on the major league roster coming out of spring and in the minors,” Reds General Manager Nick Krall said to the Washington Post in July. “We’re trying to find out how we can continue to piece this together. But the energy itself has been created by the guys who are here.”
Piecing the Reds together has been a combination of wily veterans and the infusion of exciting young players. Beloved veterans like Joey Votto and new addition Will Myers seemed to have galvanized this young roster and had them believing in themselves.
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But management was clear with the baseball people — show us you can do something with this team and we will bring up young talent and give you the tools you need to get better. Those call-ups included De la Cruz, McClain, and Steer.
“We have a long way to go,” manager David Bell said. “Our goal from Day One of spring training was to get better every single day. That has to continue. But, yeah, the timing has been good. We were playing well when we brought those guys up, and they’ve added a lot.”
Rookies struggle to hold up during long MLB season
After lighting the baseball world on fire in the first half of 2023, De La Cruz – who has speed, power, and defensive skills – has cooled off down the stretch. Bell has been managing his star rookie carefully, sitting him against left-handed pitching. De La Cruz is hitting just 1-for-20 in his last 20 at-bats and a paltry .171 over the last 30 games.
His power numbers have also fallen off a cliff hitting only two homers in the same period with 42 strikeouts. A full MLB season is tough for even talented young players, as De La Cruz proves.
McLain, who was put on the injured list on August 28 with an oblique injury, is still out of the lineup. When he was sidelined with the injury, the rookie shortstop was hitting .290 and in the thick of the NL Rookie of the Year race. His absence has hurt Cincinnati offensively, as has the loss of former Rookie of the Year Jonathan India, who has been out since June with a foot injury.
Add lingering injuries to veterans like Joey Votto, and it’s a testament to the growing depth and talent on the Cincinnati roster. Despite the injuries, the Reds enter the final weeks in a position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
A storybook ending?
With no news on McClain, the Reds have welcomed back Votto, India, and De La Cruz went 2-for-4 in Cincinnati’s 3-2 win over the Mets on Saturday. They need all three to heat up for the team’s improbable run to the playoffs.
Votto’s veteran presence in the locker room bodes well, as does the continued contributions of Steer and outfielder Hunter Renfroe, claimed off waivers from the crumbling Los Angeles Angels a few weeks ago.
Bad news this past week emerged as the Reds lost their best starter for much of the season. Right-hander Graham Ashcraft, who suffered a stress fracture to his big toe, is scheduled for season-ending surgery this week.
Despite the comings and goings, the Reds are showing no let-up. They have won two back-to-back road series and are headed home for six games to take on AL Central leaders Minnesota and NL East sellar-dwellers Pittsburgh—their bullpen, once thought a weakness, is coming through repeatedly.
The message from Bell to his team is simple: just play one game at a time.
“It may not go smooth every inning and every play,” Reds manager David Bell said after Saturday’s win. “But you just have to keep going for nine innings. And we’ll continue to do that.”
No matter what happens down the stretch, baseball is back in Cincinnati and it’s a story baseball fans should know.