The Cincinnati Reds have shown a lot of heart and passion in recent years, but not quite enough to get themselves into regular contender status.
It’s sad, sad truth. David Bell brought a fiery toughness to the Reds not seen since the prime years of the Big Red Machine. Despite that, Cincinnati only managed one playoff berth in his six seasons: Being swept by Atlanta in the 2020 Wild Card.
It’s a new 2025 season with a new-look Cincinnati Reds. Bell was fired at season’s end and there’s a new sheriff in town. The NL Central is wide open. Any one of the five teams within can win the division this year.
Does that mean the Reds are a lock for the playoffs? No, their path to October still leads uphill.
They are, however, probably in their best position to make the playoffs since their Dusty Baker era.
Greatest Addition: Terry Francona. Goodbye, David Bell. And hello, Tito! The future Hall-of-Famer has come out of retirement to defect to the southern side of Ohio and manage the Reds, his fourth managing job. Francona has also manned the Phillies, Red Sox, and Guardians, winning two rings in Boston and an AL Pennant with Cleveland in 2016.
Francona is a little older than Bell at 65 and not as fiery, but his reputation speaks for itself. He broke the infamous “Curse of the Bambino” in Boston. Players respect him and he knows how to turn once-average teams into regular contenders.
He has a lot of talent to work with, so the only real question is Francona’s health. It’s what made him step down in Cleveland, after all. But otherwise, the Reds did a great job hiring him to succeed Bell. With luck, there will be immediate results.
Greatest Loss: Jonathan India. At one point, India was an upstart rookie who seemed destined to help lead the next great era of Reds baseball. He was the NL Rookie of the year in 2021 after batting .269 with 21 home runs, but has struggled to re-capture that since. India struggled with injuries in 2022 and ’23, and bounced back with a 108 wRC+ last season.
Sadly, the Reds had too many infielders and India’s poor glove made him the odd man out. He was sent to Kansas City for sinker/slider specialist Brady Singer. India won’t be a devastating loss in the long run, but he plays with an energy which simply cannot be taught.
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Greatest Strength: High-upside pitching. The Singer addition aside, Cincinnati’s pitching is going to be an interesting watch in 2025. Hunter Greene looked like a true ace last year with a career-high 2.75 ERA and 3.47 FIP. Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott are slowly finding their respective grooves. No. 2 prospect Rhett Lowder had a 1.17 ERA in six starts last year.
Pitching coach Derek Johnson has done an excellent job transforming this pitching staff in the last three years. Cincinnati’s arms ranked 28th in staff ERA in 2022, 25th in ’23, and 19th last season. How big will that jump be with Francona in charge?
Greatest Weakness: Who’s Elly’s co-captain? Elly De La Cruz is, hands-down, the best in Cincinnati’s lineup. The 6’5″ switch-hitting shortstop had a career season in 2024 with 25 home runs, an MLB-best 67 stolen bases and a 118 wRC+. He also turned in stellar defense at shortstop with 15 outs above average (OAA) and a +11 Fielding Run Value (FRV).
There’s just one problem: the Reds’ team wRC+ was only 87. Elly De La Cruz, for all his talent, has no Robin to his Batman. Aaron Judge had Juan Soto last year and Cody Bellinger this season. The Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, three MVPs at the top of their lineup.
Who’s going to be Elly’s second-in-command this season? Spencer Steer? Matt McClain? The newly acquired Gavin Lux? It’s anyone’s guess at this point, and critical for the Reds to figure out. The earlier in the season the better.
Will the Reds win out and make the playoffs? In all honesty, Cincinnati isn’t unlike their NL Central rival Pittsburgh Pirates. They have the high-upside pitching that would mean more if it had more support from the bats. The only difference is the Reds don’t have a 1-2 punch that can match Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.
So what does that mean for the Reds? Simple. How far they go fully depends on their hitting. Ranking 26th in team batting average again won’t cut it. If Cincinnati hits, they can be a playoff team. However, don’t expect more than a Wild Card berth from them if you’re browsing NY sports betting apps.
This is a pretty good Reds team with potential to be a very good Reds team. But only if they’re hitting at a consistently good clip.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: ESNY’s MLB Preview 2025: Cincinnati Reds reboot | Elite Sports NY