The Reds have had a fairly busy offseason to this point, headlined by the surprise addition of switch-hitting infielder Jeimer Candelario on a three-year, $45MM deal. Beyond that, the club has addressed its pitching staff by picking up Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez as potential rotation options while shoring up the bullpen with Emilio Pagan. GM Nick Krall suggested to reporters, including C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic, today that the club is unlikely to make any more “major moves” this winter, though it’s possible they’ll look to bolster their bench or bullpen depth before Spring Training begins.
It’s not necessarily a surprise that the Reds don’t expect to make any other significant additions in free agency, as the club has made more than $100MM in salary commitments this offseason after much smaller offseasons in recent years. On the other hand, RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of just $101MM next season even after all of that spending. That still leaves a healthy amount of room relative to the club’s all-time high of $126MM back in 2019 (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts), though it does represent a significant step up from the club’s $87MM payroll in 2023 and roughly in he same ballpark as 2022’s $107MM figure.
Somewhat more surprising than the idea the Reds may not look to sign additional free agents of significance is the fact that Krall seemed to indicate the club doesn’t expect to swing a significant trade throughout the remainder of the offseason. The club’s infield depth is the envy of the rest of the league, and Cincinnati appears to have more position players ready for an everyday role in the majors than they can afford such an opportunity to. That’s caused Reds infielders such as Jonathan India to generate plenty of buzz on the offseason rumor mill, with India even landing at #11 on MLBTR’s list of the Top 25 Offseason Trade Candidates.
Of course, an unexpected opportunity cropping up on the trade market or even via free agency is always possible, but it seems as though the club will now shift its focus to fine-tuning the roster with minor moves. Giving the aforementioned deep positional group the club has at its disposal, the bullpen seems like a more likely place for additions at the margins than the bench, though it’s at least conceivable the club could look to add a right-handed hitting outfielder to its bench mix to help balance the trio of Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl, and Will Benson alongside Spencer Steer and Stuart Fairchild.
As for the bullpen, Alexis Diaz looked like a capable late-inning arm last season and a supporting cast of Pagan, Lucas Sims, and Sam Moll should help the Reds field a competitive relief corps next season. With that being said, the club’s bullpen ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of ERA (16th), FIP (23rd), and xFIP (29th). While the addition of Pagan and a healthier starting rotation could take some of the load off a relief corps that threw 652 1/3 innings last year, it’s easy to see where the group could benefit from further reinforcements. The Reds seem unlikely to play at the top of the relief market with players like Josh Hader, Jordan Hicks, and Robert Stephenson, though lower-level arms with late-inning experience such as Brad Hand or Adam Ottavino could make sense to add a veteran arm to the late-inning mix.