Cincinnati Reds announce promotions in midst of historically bad run

The Cincinnati Reds announced the promotions of several members of the front office in midst of bad run on the field.

The Cincinnati Reds finished what they are calling the reorganization.  It is from the Walt Jocketty era to the Dick Williams era.  That may be the case.  What they did accomplish is promoting people.  However, some came without regard for whether their area is succeeding within the Reds’ system.

Two of the promotions went to the people who are credited with moving the Reds to the new age of baseball, Sam Grossman and Nick Krall.  They are newly minted vice presidents along with Chris Buckley and Rob Butcher.  There are several different levels of achievement in these promotions.

Sam Grossman was already an assistant general manager.  He was the cornerstone of the Reds’ analytics movement.  Grossman is the person who led the move towards more shifts and is the team’s head sabermetrician.  He has gone from a one man department to become on of the most important department heads at GABP.

Nick Krall has followed the more traditional route to his vice presidential position.  He is entering his 15th campaign with the Reds.  All have been in the area of baseball operations.  As a VP, he is the right hand man to GM Dick Williams, focusing on contracts and player acquisitions.

After the Cincinnati Reds promoted those two for merit, another employee has gotten pulled along in the updraft.

Chris Buckley also received the title of vice president.  His department has one of the weakest records in all of baseball in finding talent.  Buckley is the VP of amateur scouting.

His department has historically had difficulty finding late round gems.  Heading into 2016, every other team in the National League Central had at least one home grown talent drafted later than round 10 on their opening day roster.  However, the Reds did not.

In stark contrast to Buckley, Rob Butcher’s promotion was in name only.  He joined the Reds all the way back in 1997.  George Steinbrenner infamously fired him as the New Yankees’ media director, when he travelled home to Ohio for Christmas one year.

The Reds’ fans are among the most loyal in baseball.  The Castellini ownership group is among the most loyal of any group towards their employees.  Many of the employees earned their promotions in this reorganization when they exceeded expectations.

Next: Resolutions for the Cincinnati Reds in 2017

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Those who did not should not have received a reward rather than riding the wave.  Instead of just getting by, the Reds are finally in a position to return to an era of excellence