The problem I see with this current roster is I am not sure they have any better options across the board. They are all playing like shit. Playing the splits with .190 hitter to replace another is like pissing in the wind.
Reds
- Thread starter mrschwump
- Start date
Reds fans are often brainwashed into hyping up minimal accomplishments and have set the bar so low for expectations after decades of mediocrity in this franchise. Can't blame them for a fanbase starved for winning baseball for wanting to be optimistic in the rare times around here. You get told because India wins ROY, he's the cornerstone piece to the franchise. Baseball America ranks someone in the Top 50 and they are the next coming. If Steer has one good season that he is absolved from any criticism whatsoever when it comes to poor play. Just because India comes up and has one good year, Stephenson looked good 3 years ago before the league figured out how to pitch him or Lodolo pitches good for 2 months doesn't mean this organization is successfully developing players. It's a franchise that hasn't won a postseason round in nearly 30 years. Until that ends, this organization is dropping the ball every way possible.
After an offseason spending big on Suter, Pagan, Martinez and Candelario. All that money could have been pooled together and go after one huge free agent signing that would have made sense that helped this team instead of 4 players who have disappointed to say the least. Montas has been good for the most part but injuries on a 1-year deal which is his biggest issue to overcome is affecting his availability. We only hope that is the end of the injuries, but Reds fans know all too well it never is with this bunch.
Homers can come on here and talk about how it's a 'process'. They are just delusional. Not going to mince words, this franchise's priorities are wrong and have no business owning this team. The Castellini's are just interested in turning a marginal profit or breaking even for the shareholders. This 'process' people allude to is a justification for the Reds being cheapskates to sell off players they can't afford and pump up our farm system that they continually fail to develop outside of a handful of guys. It's a gimmick people are continuing to be duped by thinking someday it is going to change. It will never be a plug in and go promoting from within farm system like Tampa Bay with the shitty player development within the Reds pipeline. Zero excuse that the Reds have absolutely no one to call on right now to boost this lineup. For a team like us with so much losing, where in the hell is our transcendent talent to carry this team like a Soto, Judge, Acuna or Harper? Even when they had one with Votto they royally pissed his career away.
Oftentimes, they have to rely on talent from other organizations to come in through the trades like Steer, CES, Marte, Arroyo to stock up the farm system along with several shitty seasons of getting decent draft position before a small window to contend comes around. I'm tired of the bullshit small market payroll excuse. Every team behind the Reds in spending for the overall team payroll rankings is above .500 this year except Tampa Bay by 1 game for a franchise that has excelled more than any team with a limited budget and frequent roster turnover. A team not built to defend home turf in a hitters' paradise, the only winning team overall with a losing home record last year is pure comedic gold. Lets draft some more shortstops in July!!
After an offseason spending big on Suter, Pagan, Martinez and Candelario. All that money could have been pooled together and go after one huge free agent signing that would have made sense that helped this team instead of 4 players who have disappointed to say the least. Montas has been good for the most part but injuries on a 1-year deal which is his biggest issue to overcome is affecting his availability. We only hope that is the end of the injuries, but Reds fans know all too well it never is with this bunch.
Homers can come on here and talk about how it's a 'process'. They are just delusional. Not going to mince words, this franchise's priorities are wrong and have no business owning this team. The Castellini's are just interested in turning a marginal profit or breaking even for the shareholders. This 'process' people allude to is a justification for the Reds being cheapskates to sell off players they can't afford and pump up our farm system that they continually fail to develop outside of a handful of guys. It's a gimmick people are continuing to be duped by thinking someday it is going to change. It will never be a plug in and go promoting from within farm system like Tampa Bay with the shitty player development within the Reds pipeline. Zero excuse that the Reds have absolutely no one to call on right now to boost this lineup. For a team like us with so much losing, where in the hell is our transcendent talent to carry this team like a Soto, Judge, Acuna or Harper? Even when they had one with Votto they royally pissed his career away.
Oftentimes, they have to rely on talent from other organizations to come in through the trades like Steer, CES, Marte, Arroyo to stock up the farm system along with several shitty seasons of getting decent draft position before a small window to contend comes around. I'm tired of the bullshit small market payroll excuse. Every team behind the Reds in spending for the overall team payroll rankings is above .500 this year except Tampa Bay by 1 game for a franchise that has excelled more than any team with a limited budget and frequent roster turnover. A team not built to defend home turf in a hitters' paradise, the only winning team overall with a losing home record last year is pure comedic gold. Lets draft some more shortstops in July!!
Last edited:
Yet he's on pace for 40 HR's and 90 SB's. Did EDLC bang your mom or something? Good Lord, Half the roster batting under .200 and You come here just to pick on the one dude on the team who is leading the them in most statistical categories.
If someone gets a HR in game 1, then he's on pace for 162 HR's. See how that works?
You may want to pick up pickleball to talk about because baseball is way out of your league, especially w/ me.
Personally, I think I'm going to wait until at least the end of June before I cancel the season. Reds are struggling mightily over the last 5 games, but until then were 3 games over 500 and they don't exactly play in a division filled with all time championship caliber teams.
Not sure too many respect your baseball opinions on here. Your constant irrational dogging of EDLC while the rest of the team is performing woefully worse than him is tiring.
The Reds can't wait until June to see if this turns around. They have to act now to stop the bleeding. We are embarking on a much tougher schedule. Already 4.5 games back in the 1st week in May. At this rate 10 by the time we get to June. Every game matters and can't just wait for Marte/McLain to come back. Saw them come up short by a game last September. Had they taken the first month and a half last year more serious and called up the prospects earlier then they might have made it in. Instead, we learn absolutely nothing from previous seasons. It's easy to win April, Pirates looked like world beaters last year. Oakland, KC & Washington look pretty sharp right now. Doubt it lasts.
No one said 'cancel the season' but good grief you just can't ignore the reality of the situation like this FO has and management keep rolling out the same lineup every day expecting things to change. Yeah, I'm beyond pissed off when they had a chance to shake things up with Mike Ford and the Reds elect to cut him telling us this is the way it's going to be. Ford carried the Yankees in 2019 when they had enough of Greg Bird and landed Luke Voit. Solid stop gap player. Literally articles out there calling out the Reds for fumbling an easy one in-house here.
Zero excuse for the FO's negligence to not be looking for alternatives outside of the organization. There are veteran players out there who could be signed on cheap minor league deals to help this team. Why Krall won't do it now after getting Bader/Renfroe last year is beyond me. SP has been solid but wasted by the bullpen and the anemic offense will bury this team by the trade deadline. Reds could act now and not let the season fall apart. They rather stick their head in the sand and gamble the season away hoping a young core without veteran leadership on the field can bring them back together. Real GMs go out and make a move. SD didn't waste any time on Luis Arraez. Cincinnati has the prospects in the lower levels to make any move they want.
Reds option Sam Moll to make the move to add Frankie Montas back? WTF is going on in this organization? Zero earned runs this year, 2 earned runs in his entire Reds career after the trade deadline acquisition and this is who they send out? An established major league veteran LHP? Reds want to lose. This organization is so F'D!!!
Krall Boys defending this one saying no other pitcher had options and IL manipulation to come. FO doesn't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Bubba Thompson hasn't had a plate appearance since 4/24 and has 2 options.
Last edited:
Well if that is the excuse behind it pitchers without options then I am not buying it. Pretty sure Alexis Diaz has never been optioned. He needs a wakeup call and get sent down. Sucks anymore. Not closer material. In a day and age today where we see Jose Abreu of all players at 37 accept a demotion, another All-Star like Alek Manoah. No one is immune to include the All-Star Diaz with a 6.57 ERA.
Guess we'll find out if there is any validity to the reports Friedl might return today. Have to do something!
Look, I am not trying to defend Reds FO, we all agree they F'ed up the off season with almost no real improvement via FA, even though they drew well last year and dumped Votto's contract, so should have had some money to spend.
That being said, CES/Benson hit a lot better last year, so I have to believe that 34 games into the season, they will come around (although it is not looking like Benson can hit LHs). India is what he is at this point, tried to move him in the off season and nobody would trade with the Reds. Even Candelario, who is awful at this point, is a career 250 hitter with ability to hit a lot of doubles. Surely Benson/CES/Candelario won't all hit 100 points less than their career average. Hard to argue about the catcher position, but a lot of teams have good field, no hit catchers. Fraley and Steer can play MLB, and Friedl is an excellent player as well.
Espinal, Martini and Thompson are minor leaguers, have no business on the roster right now, but based on other posters' comments, who are you going to promote from Louisville right now that helps?
Agree 100% with Diaz, never been high on him as a closer and he is worthless right now. I know he got hit hard last time out, but I would give Cruz a chance.
Finally, when you say make moves now, with who? And who do you trade? Only players with real value are their starting pitchers and ELDC, and that would be the absolute dumbest move(s) ever.
That being said, CES/Benson hit a lot better last year, so I have to believe that 34 games into the season, they will come around (although it is not looking like Benson can hit LHs). India is what he is at this point, tried to move him in the off season and nobody would trade with the Reds. Even Candelario, who is awful at this point, is a career 250 hitter with ability to hit a lot of doubles. Surely Benson/CES/Candelario won't all hit 100 points less than their career average. Hard to argue about the catcher position, but a lot of teams have good field, no hit catchers. Fraley and Steer can play MLB, and Friedl is an excellent player as well.
Espinal, Martini and Thompson are minor leaguers, have no business on the roster right now, but based on other posters' comments, who are you going to promote from Louisville right now that helps?
Agree 100% with Diaz, never been high on him as a closer and he is worthless right now. I know he got hit hard last time out, but I would give Cruz a chance.
Finally, when you say make moves now, with who? And who do you trade? Only players with real value are their starting pitchers and ELDC, and that would be the absolute dumbest move(s) ever.
Not every move has to consist of trading Major League talent on the active roster. No team with intentions to contend is looking to improve by moving major league talent from their active roster. Dan O'Dowd on MLB Network makes a very good point that not every prospect a team drafts will end up being promoted to the big leagues with that club and GM's can use them to supplement the roster in other ways making trade to fill holes.
Look to move areas where you have depth in the pipeline and the Reds have plenty of that in the lower levels of the minor league system. The Reds are rich in infielders in A Ball that will be blocked by Steer, India, McLain, Marte, EDLC and Arroyo. Why not shop around a couple of these infield prospects like Cam Collier, Sal Stewart, Carlos Jorge, Ricardo Cabrera, Sammy Stafura, Leo Balcazar on the left side of the infield along with a recent college drafted arm like Floyd or Hollan to attract some quality major league talent. I'm more than comfortable with moving on from at least 2 infielders and a pitcher for an impact bat that would boost this lineup.
Also, I mentioned several free agent alternatives here already in previous posts that are still out on the market that Reds could take a chance on a minor league deal rather than continue on with Martini, Espinal, Thompson so forth. They may not save the Reds season but bring a veteran leadership to the roster with a much higher floor than the current players on the bench. Give them an incentive-based deal. Segura and Meadows intrigue me the most. Can easily waive them if they don't work out or flip them at the deadline like they did with Naquin, Drury & Pham a couple of years ago.
I am with you that CES will likely get it turned around soon enough and is too good of a player not to. I have been as high on Will Benson as any Reds fan before he ever put on the Reds jersey. You will routinely find me in the past here and even this season 'my man Benson' every time he does something right. I am on record in this thread saying I thought he could be an Adam Jones type of player someday if he can hit for more power with better speed. Maybe more of a Heyward type guy. No one here is higher on him than I am though he has to cut down on strikeouts and never been much of a hitter vs lefties. He looked really good at times last year and I credit the work he put in with Votto for when he was producing for the Reds. Far from ready to give up on him. As far as Candelario, he is the veteran with the most experience in MLB on this team and with that contract, he needs to get it together. He played in some bad lineups with Detroit & Washington in which he was a decent player at times and is just playing awful right now. Has to change.
Last edited:
Friedl & Montas back, Conor Capel called up. Martini optioned and they sent Bubba Thompson all the way down to AA Chattanooga.
KKKKKruz's value is overstated and overrated. He's a project, nothing more, and at this stage, his deficiencies are not worthy of being a full time SS, especially if he is looked at as one of the team's best players. Perhaps if he had a couple of legit stars around him, his terrible stretches wouldn't stand out.
He's currently on a 6-39 skid w/ 15 K's (equivalent to his dismal periods last year) Yes, he will put together a few good games, and then Sadak can start screaming again, but this is who he is on a consistent basis.
Reds sign Mike Ford to a big league deal - Redleg Nation
The Cincinnati Reds have reportedly signed Mike Ford to a big league deal just days after granting him his release.
www.redlegnation.com
All of that just to bring Ford back? He's here but what way to actually get to Cincinnati. Probably doesn't happen without CES going to the IL. Should have put him there to begin with than re-aggravating the I jury playing while hurt.
Get Friedl back just in time for CES to get hurt. It's the Reds. Why should I ever expect anything different? 
Should not go unnoticed, Rhett Lowder promoted to the AA Chattanooga Lookouts. He could be like Abbott & Phillips last year fast rising and make their debut this year. Would be great to have him once the minor league season ends, rest some starters and he gets a taste of MLB before going into 2025. Hopefully the Reds are playing meaningful baseball in September.
Fairchild, you had one job! Come in and pinch run for Ford. Gets doubled up. He's next on the chopping block and not helping his cause to stay on this team. Reds showed some signs of life offensively and starting pitching has been good enough to win games.
To make matters worse the play was in front of him. Marte did a great decoy job.
Has any team in baseball been plagued by more injuries to key players than the Reds in the last 4-5 years? Seriously. It's almost to the point of absurdity.Get Friedl back just in time for CES to get hurt. It's the Reds. Why should I ever expect anything different?
3/4ths of the projected opening day infielders are out now for extended periods. Steer, EDLC, CES, McClain, and Marte were all expected to be the core of a pretty potent batting order. Now we only have two of those guys surrounded by a bunch of turds.
Starting pitching has been about the only bright spot, they are actually starting to look like the Rotation we've been hoping for. They're at least all healthy still.
These are the two that are actually worth anything. 1 is a turd, and the other 2 (1 injured and 1 suspended) still have hope.
Cincinnati Reds Update: The Latest on Matt McLain's Injury and When He Hopes to Return
The star second baseman hasn't played this season due to a shoulder injury.
Sitting 6 games below .500 and 7 games back of the Brewers. Swept by the D'Backs last week and now going to their place. 6 games with the Dodgers this month. No end in sight. CES out for awhile. Plus no where near ready to get Marte or McLain back.
It's okay to admit this just isn't our year and started off behind the 8 ball. A long ways to go but this time last year was about the time the Reds turned the corner and had McLain join the Reds for the first of the prospects to come up. There are none waiting in the minor leagues except maybe Lowder with it a stretch at this point. Not sure how much that helps this 2024 team when SP has been fairly decent until this series.
Even if Cincinnati somehow went above .500 June-Sep. Need a miracle for the rest to fall on their ass from here out and a huge turnaround for the Reds.
It's okay to admit this just isn't our year and started off behind the 8 ball. A long ways to go but this time last year was about the time the Reds turned the corner and had McLain join the Reds for the first of the prospects to come up. There are none waiting in the minor leagues except maybe Lowder with it a stretch at this point. Not sure how much that helps this 2024 team when SP has been fairly decent until this series.
Even if Cincinnati somehow went above .500 June-Sep. Need a miracle for the rest to fall on their ass from here out and a huge turnaround for the Reds.
Last edited:
I've mentioned this before but say again...look at Reds OF, way behind contenders. Every playoff/WS type team has outfielders who are All Stars. Reds don't. Their OF needs rebuilding in the worst way. Reds current outfielders are fourth or fifth on contending teams. And there's likely little or no help in their minor leagues. Just not going to happen folks.
I read bullshit about trading India and in the past Alexis Diaz. Do people not realize to trade someone a team would actually have to want to make that move for a player first? No one wants them right now. Their trade stock is in the shitter and no team is going to give the Reds anything of value for them. The Reds waited too late to do that. Diaz's best value would have been anywhere at the start of 2023 up until he got to the All-Star Game and the wheels have fallen apart. India's peak value was right after the rookie of the year. Sure, he has had small streaks here and there but nothing close to his 2021 season.
Last edited:
Similar threads
