But it was that kind of year for the Reds.
Desperation.
The optimism that preceded this season disappeared faster than when David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
Gone quickly via injuries were infielders Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.
Gone quickly for 80 games was third baseman Noelvi Marte, suspended for PED use.
Gone over the course of the season was the entire Opening Day starting rotation due to an assortment of injuries and the trade of Opening Day starter Frankie Montas..
And near the end of the disappointing season gone was manager David Bell, the fall guy for inconsistent play, shoddy baserunning, leaky defense and failure for some young players to show improvement.
So what’s ahead for 2025 for a team that finished 77-85, 16 games behind National League Central champion Milwaukee?
The Reds solved their first order of business Friday when they hired Terry Francona, their No. 1 target, to replace Bell as manager. It’s a whopping step forward.
Now they must address some issues on the field to give Francona a chance to manage a contender.
Will the Reds make some moves?
The team has a glut of young infielders — Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz, Marte, McLain, Encarnacion-Strand, Santiago Espinal, Jeimer Candelario, Ty France and sometimes Spencer Steer.
And shortstop Edwin Arroyo, a sensation last spring before he, too, was injured, appears big-league ready.
What to do, what to do?
There are a couple of scenarios. India could be the odd man out, a tradeable commodity. McLain is the likely second baseman, unless the Reds move him to his natural shortstop position.
That would mean moving De La Cruz to the outfield, preferably to center field. With his speed, he would cover Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and southeaster Indiana.
His laser arm would cut down baserunners and prevent extra bases and at 6-foot-6 he would be a baseball Willie Sutton in robbing home runs.
The Reds, though, don’t seem inclined to do that, even though the Pittsburgh Pirates moved their tall and talented shortstop, Oneil Cruz, successfully to center field.
India could bring the Reds a nice off-season package, one that could include a power-hitting outfielder, something the team lacks. He didn’t endear himself with the front office when he criticized it for not making enough right moves to improve the team at the trade deadline.
A power-hitting corner outfielder should be a priority, preferably right field. Jake Fraley had the team’s highest batting average at .277, but hit only five homers and drove in only 26 runs for his 382 plate appearances.
Will Benson was one big bust with a .187 batting average and 154 strikeouts in 388 plate appearance. He was brought in to be a power-hitting outfielder but was used very little the last month of the season.
Catcher Tyler Stephenson caught more than 1,000 innings and needs better back-up than Luke Maile and his .178 batting average. There might be a better option in the organization, or the team should search for a quality back-up.
As for outfielders, the Reds could go free agent hunting and there are 40 of them on the market. But how much money would the frugal Reds spend on a good outfielder?
The best available are Juan Soto, Anthony Santander and Cody Bellinger. They will carry inflated price tags and will have teams lined up at their front doors.
Other notable outfielders on the market are Teoscar Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Joc Pederson, Jurickson Profar and Michael A. Taylor.
While the team is loaded with young pitching talent, they all showed vulnerability on the injury front and haven’t proven they can cover a full season.
With that in mind, a top priority should be convincing Nick Martinez to stay. He has an opt-out clause and most assuredly also will have teams fall all over themselves to sign him.
When all the starters disappeared, Martinez came out of the bullpen and was the team’s best pitcher, so good that he won National League Pitcher of the Month for September.
The Reds will have to open their wallets wide to keep him.
The club could use some bullpen help, too, starting with closer. While Alexis Diaz was 28 for 32 in saves, the blown saves came in tight games and many saves were of the easy variety.
His record was 2-5 with a 3.99 earned run average, far too high for a closer.
Some major patchwork is necessary.
After a winning 2023 when the team fell two wins short of making the playoffs, 2024 expectations were high. But the Reds took two giant steps backward with a large lack of discipline and a penchant for losing close games — 15-28 in one-run games.
The Reds have not made the playoffs after a full season since 2012. They made it in the convoluted 2020 season, shortened by COVID-19, but lost two games to Atlanta and didn’t score a run, losing 1-0 and 5-0.
The pressure is on President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall to make all the right moves to make the Reds relevant.
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