Cincinnati Reds should re-organize coaching staff during the off-season

The Cincinnati Reds have the right people in the wrong positions on the major league coaching staff.

The Cincinnati Reds seem well versed in determining who will make a good coach.  They have one of the most respected coaching staffs top to bottom in all of baseball.  Unfortunately, the pieces don’t seem to be allocated to the proper locations.

Jim Riggleman should be the manager.  There is no reason to have him on this staff and not have him be the manager.  He has been successful as an MLB manager, especially with his last stint, as the manager of the Washington Nationals.

Bryan Price, then, could be moved back to pitching coach where he is one of the best in the business.  He has been successful for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, in addition to the Reds.  He is an awkward fit as the manager and would benefit from the re-allocation.

Mack Jenkins should return to the bullpen.  Jenkins did a tremendous job of helping that bullpen transition into an asset for the team.  He should go back there so that it remains a strength of the team.

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That puts Ted Power in an interesting position.  He could go back to Louisville or stay in Cincinnati.  Keeping him around as the bench coach would be an interesting idea.

Despite a decent season offensively, the Cincinnati Reds need to take a long look at how streaky they played in 2017.

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Don Long is a quality hitting coach.  Unfortunately, four years into his reign as hitting coach, the team needs a new voice.  Long should have someone else assigned as his equal because what he has done should not be diminished.

1990 World Series hero Billy Hatcher is the answer.  Right now he is questionable third base coach.  Re-assigning Hatcher to work as the co-hitting coach with Long would help the team in the long run.

That leaves the third base coaching position open.  The remaining coaches are Tony Jaramillo and Freddie Benavides.

Moving Benavides to third could make sense.

Jaramillo has done an OK job supporting Long as assistant batting coach, but the team needs something fresh.  Seeing Jaramillo at first after a good at-bat would keep things moving in the right direction.  It would also keep the coaching staff intact.

Next: The Reds have a chance at 2018 World Series

The Reds are coming out of the rebuild and need to move the pieces to compete in 2018.  This includes the coaches as well as the players.  Otherwise, 2018 will feel like Ground Hog’s Day.