State of the Reds

I would not say the Reds have gone all out to build a contender but they have reasonable, yet aggressive moves to field a competitive team.  Have they mortgaged their future to do it?

Ownership:  Bob Castellini has headed an 18 member investment group who own the Reds.  He's been in that position since 2006.  It's probably not reasonable to expect a team in a market as small as Cincinnati to spend huge amounts on free agents but compared to other small market teams, the Reds spent enough for a smart management team to build a competitive roster.  Current payroll per Cot's Baseball Contracts is about $147 M.

Grade B+.

Management:  GM Dick Williams has been GM since 2016.  He has installed state of the art analytics and brought in an analytical Manager in David Bell.  He has made aggressive yet prudent moves to build a contending roster.  The only area of concern is the farm system which has been depleted by some of those moves.

Grade A-

Current Roster:  Tucker Barnhart C, Joey Votto 1B, Mike Moustakas 2B, Eugenio Suarez 3B, Freddy Galvis SS, Jesse Winker LF, Nick Senzel CF, Nick Castellanos RF.

Bench:  Curt Casali C, Kyle Farmer IF, Alex Blandino IF, Shogo Akiyama OF, Scott Schebler OF?

Starting Rotation:  Luis Castillo RHP, Sonny Gray RHP, Trevor Bauer RHP, Anthony DeSclafini RHP, Wade Miley LHP.

Bullpen:  Raisel Iglesias RHP(Closer), Amir Garrett LHP, Michael Lorenzen RHP, Pedro Strop RHP, Robert Stephenson RHP, Cody Reed LHP, Lucas Sims RHP, Nate Jones RHP.

This is a well balanced roster without any glaring weaknesses.  The pitching, in particular, has a chance to be really good.  Castellanos and Moose add potent bats from each side of the plate to lengthen the lineup behind Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez which also takes some pressure off the younger hitters.

Grade B+

Farm System:  Dick Williams has not shied away from trading prospects and the loss of Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs hurts.  Nick Lodolo is a legit pitching prospect who should move fast.  Hunter Greene still has the high ceiling but must recover from the TJ surgery which has become almost obligatory for hard throwing HS pitching draftees.  Beyond that it's a pretty big dropoff.

Grade D+.