As MLB free agency heats up, Cincinnati Reds remain in slow burn of their rebuild
SAN DIEGO – The setup for managerial press conferences at the Major League Baseball winter meetings has two managers speaking simultaneously on separate sides of a Grand Hyatt ballroom.
On one side of the room Monday was Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, hired in October. He was surrounded by more than three dozen reporters and at least five TV cameras. He was asked several questions about Jacob deGrom, the two-time Cy Young winner who signed a five-year, $185 million contract.
Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell spoke on the other side of the room, surrounded by six reporters and no TV cameras.
It was a stark illustration of the Reds’ current standing in the league. The Rangers lost 94 games last season, and they’re making an aggressive push to upgrade their roster. The Reds lost 100 games and remain in the slow burn of a rebuild. A popular Twitter account for a New York-based podcast posted a photoshopped picture of Aaron Judge in a Reds uniform and Jonathan India responded, “Imagine… lol.”
No, the Reds won’t be the team making a big splash in free agency with their own payroll constraints set from ownership. This stage of the rebuild is based on developing their own players and making them the foundation of their roster.
"I'm focused on the guys that we had at the end of the season, the second half of the season,” Bell said Monday. “It's just the way the game goes. I know that can change between now and spring training. You’re always looking to make improvements and that’s just kind of the way things go, but for the most part, really focused on the guys we have.”
The Reds had a 21-39 record following the trade deadline last season, and that’s their starting point. Tyler Stephenson resumed baseball activities after his broken collarbone and will return at catcher. Joey Votto will start at first base once he recovers from rotator cuff and bicep surgery.
The Reds will give Spencer Steer a long look at third base, Bell said. Jose Barrero, who will play in the Puerto Rican Winter League this month, will compete for the starting shortstop job with Kevin Newman and Matt Reynolds.
India dealt with several injuries in a disappointing 2022 season in which he struggled defensively. The Reds have no plans on moving him from second base despite the new shift restrictions, which will put a premium on athleticism.
“(India) was in Cincinnati last weekend running sprints, and he looked better than he did the entire year last year,” Bell said. “He's a young player. He's plenty athletic. He's determined to kind of maximize his range. In my mind, he's our second baseman right now.”
The outfield is more in flux. Nick Senzel underwent surgery for a broken bone in his toe last month and continues to use a scooter to move around since the end of the season. The Reds are hopeful he’ll be ready for the start of spring training. He remains the top internal choice to start in center, though Reds have inquired on free-agent center fielders, sources told The Enquirer.
“He’s done a great job of taking care of himself,” Bell said of Senzel. “He looks really good. I mean, it's tough for anyone to manage their weight and their physical conditioning when you can't run or do anything, so I give him a lot of credit.”
Jake Fraley and TJ Friedl are left-handed-hitting options to fill the outfield with right-handed hitters Stuart Fairchild and Nick Solak.
Shortstop Elly De La Cruz, one of the top-rated prospects in the sport, is unlikely to make the Opening Day roster with only 47 games above A-ball, but he will draw a lot of attention throughout spring camp.
“You have a team and an organization to make decisions for, but the best way to do that is to do what's best for the player,” Bell said. “I think being open and not trying to predetermine too much what the timeline may look like for a young player because things change really fast. Every player has their own timeline. If you get too set, sometimes you can miss a window. You can always recover from it, but sometimes you could wait too long, and certainly it's happened at times where you do it too quick.”
This is where the Reds sit. No multi-year signings to discuss. The front office is talking to teams and agents about available players, but the focus is on internal improvement. It’s the boring part of a rebuild, with TV cameras pointed elsewhere, and there are no shortcuts to escape it.
Reds preparing for MLB’s 2023 rule changes
The Reds haven’t been a strong baserunning team in recent seasons, without much speed on their roster, but that’s an area of focus with some of the rules MLB is implementing next year.
Pitchers are permitted to step off the rubber twice with a runner on base. If a pitcher makes a third pick-off attempt, he must throw out the runner, otherwise it will be ruled as a balk.
“We brought in (first-base coach) Collin Cowgill, whose mentality towards base running – it's fun talking to him about it,” Bell said. “Things like that can make a difference by just making it important and having your team believe in the ability to win games that way. It is technique, for sure, and certainly with the rule changes, but more than anything, it's just an attitude. It's going to be a big focus for us.”
Senzel led the Reds with eight stolen bases last season and the team finished with 58, the sixth-lowest number in the league. With the roster trending younger, the Reds should add some overall speed, particularly with guys like De La Cruz, Friedl and center fielder Michael Siani.
“Making sure you get secondary leads and get really good at that, but the speed is going to come into play a lot more,” Bell said. “Our staff is committed to being really great at those kinds of things. Hitting too, like contact is going to be more important, so that's something (hitting coach) Joel (McKeithan) and I have talked a lot about.”
Reds re-sign two players to minor league deals
The Reds re-signed catcher Chuckie Robinson and right-handed reliever Jared Solomon to minor-league contracts with invitations to spring training.
Both players were removed from the 40-man roster earlier in the offseason after making their Major League debuts last season. Robinson, who will turn 28 on Dec. 14, hit .136 in 25 games. Solomon, 25, allowed eight hits and 10 runs in 8 1/3 innings in his first season after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell examines lineup for 2023 season
