2025 Cincinnati Reds Thread

14Red said:
This weekend was the proverbial sledgehammer between the eyes. Friday, up 6-2, the lead is blown big time in a 13-6 loss. You bounce back nicely and take a 6-4 win Saturday, today, after 5 innings it's 8-3. You emplode again and lost 11-8. Literally a handfull of innings and a solid bullpen from sweeping the Cubs, instead you lost 2 of 3 and really put yourself in a tough spot moving forward.
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Yes. yesterday was the kill shot, applied before Memorial Day. Even Jon Sadak was demoralized.
 
AEW Champion said:
Pretty much the only givens at this point are Burns and Lowder eventually taking the rotation spots currently occupied by Martinez and Singer.

It seems like Sal Stewart and maybe Cam Collier (both 3B) are the only hitting prospects who could be relevant to the major-league team in the next year or two. Edwin Arroyo was hyped by some, but he appears to be just mediocre at the plate with little power, and that’s in the minors. He’s still young, though.

Who wants to take bets on which of the above guys the Reds try to turn into outfielders?
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From what I’ve heard Arroyo might be trade bait. He has really only played shortstop and is blocked in the Majors by Ely. Granted this was discussion before the Reds played themselves out of contention and we’re discussing getting an actual outfielder.
 
Gh0st said:
From what I’ve heard Arroyo might be trade bait. He has really only played shortstop and is blocked in the Majors by Ely. Granted this was discussion before the Reds played themselves out of contention and we’re discussing getting an actual outfielder.
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Well since the morons running the team apparently won't extend Elly, we will need a SS in a couple years. Once his arbitration value gets to high, he will be gone, even before he is FA eligible. Like Jazz Chisholm, the cheap Marlins traded him with years left once his Arb cost was too high.
 
wolves82 said:
Well since the morons running the team apparently won't extend Elly, we will need a SS in a couple years. Once his arbitration value gets to high, he will be gone, even before he is FA eligible. Like Jazz Chisholm, the cheap Marlins traded him with years left once his Arb cost was too high.
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If the Reds be the Reds, they’ll just refuse to pay him when he hits FA and we’ll get no return. Like Castellanos.
 
Gh0st said:
Would not be shocked to see Hays traded at the deadline.
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If they fall out of contention, Hays, Martinez and Pagan are as good as gone. Maybe the other bullpen vets (Barlow, Rogers) as well.

They’ll have decisions to make on guys who will be entering their last year of arbitration before hitting free agency after 2026: Singer, Lux, Stephenson. (Espinal as well, but they’ll keep him because he’s cheap and versatile.)

Suter will likely stay since he has a cheap option for 2026.

The only players they’re under obligation for in 2026 are Greene, Trevino and Candelario. Suter and Barlow have club options. Hays has a $12M mutual option. Everyone else is in arbitration or pre-arbitration.
 
AEW Champion said:
The bullpen was due for regression. The Reds don’t have any stars in that unit, and they’ve mostly been performing at levels that seem unsustainable so far this season.
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You don't know until you know. Maybe just a bad stretch? The bullpen has been more than solid for about 80% of the games played so far. So what's the definition of a star? Baseball teams win sometimes because of the "other" guys. More team oriented than any other sport.
 
Even with the recent dumpster fire vs. the Cubs, the Reds offense may finally be coming out of it's funk. That's 6, 6, 8 and 7 today in the last 4 games. Multiple guys getting in on the act. By the end of the Cubs series this weekend, we should be 1/3rd done with the season. If the offense can get more like THIS in the next 3rd of the season, I think you'll see many more wins.
 
14Red said:
You don't know until you know. Maybe just a bad stretch? The bullpen has been more than solid for about 80% of the games played so far. So what's the definition of a star? Baseball teams win sometimes because of the "other" guys. More team oriented than any other sport.
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Because statistically the bullpen was punching above its weight. The bullpen was giving up contact that just happened to be outs earlier in the year. Now those are turning into hits. Pitching to contact in GABP catches up to you eventually.
 
wolves82 said:
Consistent losing breeds losing attitudes which gives you - wait for it - a clubhouse full of guys who don;t get upset about losing. In other words - losers. Like some fans who do not seem to mind losing consistently.
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It is interesting that as much as 14Red seems to idolize Pete Rose, their appetite for winning apparently could not be more polar opposites.
 
14Red said:
Even with the recent dumpster fire vs. the Cubs, the Reds offense may finally be coming out of it's funk. That's 6, 6, 8 and 7 today in the last 4 games. Multiple guys getting in on the act.
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I’m going to remain skeptical for now and need to see more.

Chances are they’ve run into a favorable slate of mediocre starting pitchers having bad days. (Kind of like 2023’s 12-game run was littered with poor opposing starters.) Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, Ben Brown and Michael Lorenzen aren’t exactly a murderer’s row of opposing pitching to work through.

It’s notable that in these 4 games, the Reds have scored a total of one run in innings 6 to 9. They may be just fattening up on a few unimposing starting pitchers. The Reds are fortunate to face the Royals with both Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo on the IL, and they miss both Michael Wacha and Kris Bubic, who’s having a really good season so far.
 
prediction form The Diamond " : UNless Reds make some good trades for Tito , he will step down after this season or sooner :oops::oops::oops::oops:
 
AEW Champion said:
I’m going to remain skeptical for now and need to see more.

Chances are they’ve run into a favorable slate of mediocre starting pitchers having bad days. (Kind of like 2023’s 12-game run was littered with poor opposing starters.) Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, Ben Brown and Michael Lorenzen aren’t exactly a murderer’s row of opposing pitching to work through.

It’s notable that in these 4 games, the Reds have scored a total of one run in innings 6 to 9. They may be just fattening up on a few unimposing starting pitchers. The Reds are fortunate to face the Royals with both Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo on the IL, and they miss both Michael Wacha and Kris Bubic, who’s having a really good season so far.
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Remain skeptical? I could tell you that you won a million dollars in the lottery and you'd complain about the taxes or some other thing.

A true baseball oddity is this Reds team can't score in the late innings, The are something like 0-22 in games they are behind going into the 6th inning. When they score first they have a really good record. And until last weekend, they've actually been pretty good at holding leads.

As for who the starting pitcher is for the opponent, yes, you can take some stock in that, but also how many times have we seen unimpressive starters shut us down? To me it's a day to day thing. Going into Friday's game Boyd was pretty good for the Cubs. To me the Cubs seem to be a team more offensive oriented and just bludgeon their opponents and outscore their pitching deficiencies. That tends to not bode well in the postseason. Not giving the Cubs the division yet, but generally speaking pitching still beats good hitting.
 
kdiamond said:
prediction form The Diamond " : UNless Reds make some good trades for Tito , he will step down after this season or sooner :oops::oops::oops::oops:
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I do think Francona already has a big impact on the roster. The Reds picked up Austin Hays, Jose Trevino, Scott Barlow, they've added a few guys since the start of the season. The pickup of Garrett Hampson is a curious one to me. For a team that's loaded with infielders and guys who aren't hitting, you pick up a utility guy who really doesn't hit. My prediction is there are teams asking for Santigo Espinal and the Reds will need another jack of all trades type of player. Espinal is / can be a valuable piece for a contender. If the Reds can get the right package of players put together, they may be able to pull a good trade off. They have a decent stable of arms in the organization. Your Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Braves, Mets, Yankees, Tigers, are going to be looking for solid contributors and bullpen arms to add down the stretch and into the postseason.

Long range thinking, I don't see Espinal / Pagan being in Cincy for the long term, so if you can get something for them now, you may want to pull the trigger.
 
14Red said:
I do think Francona already has a big impact on the roster. The Reds picked up Austin Hays, Jose Trevino, Scott Barlow, they've added a few guys since the start of the season. The pickup of Garrett Hampson is a curious one to me. For a team that's loaded with infielders and guys who aren't hitting, you pick up a utility guy who really doesn't hit. My prediction is there are teams asking for Santigo Espinal and the Reds will need another jack of all trades type of player. Espinal is / can be a valuable piece for a contender. If the Reds can get the right package of players put together, they may be able to pull a good trade off. They have a decent stable of arms in the organization. Your Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Braves, Mets, Yankees, Tigers, are going to be looking for solid contributors and bullpen arms to add down the stretch and into the postseason.

Long range thinking, I don't see Espinal / Pagan being in Cincy for the long term, so if you can get something for them now, you may want to pull the trigger.
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You pretty much described the prototypical Nick Krall acquisition.
 
14Red said:
I do think Francona already has a big impact on the roster. The Reds picked up Austin Hays, Jose Trevino, Scott Barlow, they've added a few guys since the start of the season. The pickup of Garrett Hampson is a curious one to me. For a team that's loaded with infielders and guys who aren't hitting, you pick up a utility guy who really doesn't hit. My prediction is there are teams asking for Santigo Espinal and the Reds will need another jack of all trades type of player. Espinal is / can be a valuable piece for a contender. If the Reds can get the right package of players put together, they may be able to pull a good trade off. They have a decent stable of arms in the organization. Your Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Braves, Mets, Yankees, Tigers, are going to be looking for solid contributors and bullpen arms to add down the stretch and into the postseason.

Long range thinking, I don't see Espinal / Pagan being in Cincy for the long term, so if you can get something for them now, you may want to pullisthe trigger.
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Is Tito invlved in making player acquistion decisions ? Didint know if that was part of his deal in becoming the mgr. I just would not be surprised in his health came into play at some point again. Not saying he would use it as an excuse but its always hanging there possibly. Hope he can stick around for a little while
 
14Red said:
The pickup of Garrett Hampson is a curious one to me. For a team that's loaded with infielders and guys who aren't hitting, you pick up a utility guy who really doesn't hit. My prediction is there are teams asking for Santigo Espinal and the Reds will need another jack of all trades type of player. Espinal is / can be a valuable piece for a contender. If the Reds can get the right package of players put together, they may be able to pull a good trade off. They have a decent stable of arms in the organization. Your Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Braves, Mets, Yankees, Tigers, are going to be looking for solid contributors and bullpen arms to add down the stretch and into the postseason.

Long range thinking, I don't see Espinal / Pagan being in Cincy for the long term, so if you can get something for them now, you may want to pull the trigger.
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1. The Hampson pickup is straightforward. Elly is clearly hurt. Lux has had a bad back. Because of the poor roster construction and injuries, Espinal is locked into 3B and Lux is basically locked into DH/LF. McLain isn’t moving off 2B. Marte is hurt. So they have no healthy depth if Elly or Lux were to be unavailable to play SS. (I’m not even going to look, but you can’t bet the middle infield picture in Louisville must be ultra bleak.)

2. No one is banging down the door to get Santiago Espinal.

3. One post earlier, you pooh-pooh’ed my skepticism of the offense. In the very next post, you’re discussing offloading players to contenders and essentially waving the white flag on 2025.
 
We have a lineup....
There was some speculation from Reds nation that Elly has some kind of a leg injury as he was running the bases Saturday or Sunday. Last night he DH'd for the first time in a long time and he's in the lineup tonight. I will say this, and I love it about Elly and how the Reds use him. The dude plays, everyday, most every inning. He rarely comes out. I have no idea if there is some pressure from his agent or someplace else, but in an age where we handle pro athletes with kid gloves, the Reds run Elly out there every single chance they get. Nearly every other player on the team, if there is a tweak, twinge, poke, pop, grab, they are coming out of the lineup and getting an MRI. McLain getting the night off.


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AEW Champion said:
1. The Hampson pickup is straightforward. Elly is clearly hurt. Lux has had a bad back. Because of the poor roster construction and injuries, Espinal is locked into 3B and Lux is basically locked into DH/LF. McLain isn’t moving off 2B. Marte is hurt. So they have no healthy depth if Elly or Lux were to be unavailable to play SS. (I’m not even going to look, but you can’t bet the middle infield picture in Louisville must be ultra bleak.)

2. No one is banging down the door to get Santiago Espinal.

3. One post earlier, you pooh-pooh’ed my skepticism of the offense. In the very next post, you’re discussing offloading players to contenders and essentially waving the white flag on 2025.
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Not necessarily on 2025, but to think that Pagan and Espinal is going to be part of the plans for say 2027, it's not happening. This stuff is very fluid. Yes, you want to keep certain guys but if you have veteran players who have value and you CAN unload or package them to trade for other things.

It's funny you bring up Elly. Wonder what ever happened to McLain playing short? He never does. I wonder if there is worry that if he plays short and does well it puts pressure on to move Elly?
 
14Red said:
Not necessarily on 2025, but to think that Pagan and Espinal is going to be part of the plans for say 2027, it's not happening. This stuff is very fluid. Yes, you want to keep certain guys but if you have veteran players who have value and you CAN unload or package them to trade for other things.

It's funny you bring up Elly. Wonder what ever happened to McLain playing short? He never does. I wonder if there is worry that if he plays short and does well it puts pressure on to move Elly?
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Why move McLain out of a position he's playing well defensively? At this point his defense is the biggest argument for not sending him to Lousiville and the only thing keeping his WAR from being negative.

Forcing players to move out of their positions is why the Reds defense is suspect at best and has been for the past few seasons.
 
14Red said:
Not necessarily on 2025, but to think that Pagan and Espinal is going to be part of the plans for say 2027, it's not happening. This stuff is very fluid. Yes, you want to keep certain guys but if you have veteran players who have value and you CAN unload or package them to trade for other things.

It's funny you bring up Elly. Wonder what ever happened to McLain playing short? He never does. I wonder if there is worry that if he plays short and does well it puts pressure on to move Elly?
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A) Espinal is cheap and pretty effective. Reds will keep.
B) your goofy conspiracy theories are getting old. You just praised Elly for playing everyday. McLain is not playing SS because Elly is. Stop being foolish.
 
Keep hitting boys. Despite my frustrations with the front office/management, I'll keep hoping for W's.
 
wolves82 said:
Keep hitting boys. Despite my frustrations with the front office/management, I'll keep hoping for W's.
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Hopefully the Reds can keep it interesting heading into July. This weekend series is huge.

Most of us have our opinions on the FO, but if they are in contention this season and nothing happens at the trade deadline, that should tell all the fence sitting fans where this group stands on winning. They have the SP to win a playoff series, but going ice cold and scoring no runs ain’t gonna cut it.
 
Gh0st said:
Why move McLain out of a position he's playing well defensively? At this point his defense is the biggest argument for not sending him to Lousiville and the only thing keeping his WAR from being negative.

Forcing players to move out of their positions is why the Reds defense is suspect at best and has been for the past few seasons.
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I'm just curious that 2 months ago, many wanted to move Elly to the outfield and put McLain at his natural shortstop position??? Just asking.
 
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