Cincinnati Reds: The front office and ownership kept their promise

It’s time to give credit where credit is due. Dick Williams, Nick Krall, and the entire Cincinnati Reds front office deserve a standing ovation.

Now, it’s much to early to crack open the champagne and cover the clubhouse in plastic, after all, there’s 162 games left to play. However, the Cincinnati Reds are the unquestioned winners of baseball’s offseason. Owner Bob Castellini, President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams, GM Nick Krall, and the entire front office kept their promise.

Going into this offseason, the Reds front office knew they had to make some big moves. The first, and perhaps most shocking move of the winter, was signing Mike Moustakas to a four-year contract. The $64M deal doled out by the Reds was the largest ever given to a free agent. Not only that, Cincinnati rolled the dice a little bit, as Moustakas is slated to play second base.

Sure, Moustakas played second base for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019, but that’s not his primary position. Historically a third baseman, Moose was shifted to third last season by the Brewers in an effort to get Travis Shaw in the lineup at the hot corner. Shaw had a terrible season, and Moustakas moved back to third base, starting just 40 games at second base.

Not to be outdone, Williams and Krall worked their magic and signed left-handed starter Wade Miley to a two-year deal. After back-to-back successful seasons, Miley showed he could be a productive piece in a rotation, and the Reds decided to reunite him with his former pitching coach Derek Johnson.

Miley will likely replace Tyler Mahle in the rotation. One of the better young pitchers in the Reds organization, Mahle limped to a 3-12 record in 2019, but showed improvement in other areas. Normally, penciling Mahle in as the Reds fifth starter would be no problem, but the front office felt otherwise and signed Miley to a $15M contract.

The Reds had been rumored all offseason to be after the top outfielders on the market. Whether it was Marcell Ozuna, Corey Dickerson or Nicholas Castellanos, Cincinnati was rumored to be in the hunt. A couple weeks ago, however, the Reds front office changed course and settled on versatile Japanese outfielder Shogo Akiyama.

Cincinnati signed Akiyama to a three-year/$21M contract and expect the 31-year-old to be a key piece atop the Reds batting order. Akiyama has a phenomenal career on-base percentage and is viewed as a player who’s capable of playing all three outfield spots.

The final feather in the cap of the Reds front office came this morning when it was reported that Cincinnati had agreed to a four-year contract with Castellanos. The power-hitting right fielder led all of Major League Baseball in doubles last season.

The front office promised before the offseason began that they’d be aggressive this winter, with an emphasis on upgrading the offense. Dick Williams and Nick Krall have done just that. That said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention owner Bob Castellini. After all, he’s the one signing the checks.

Castellini has been viewed by some fans in a very negative light, but there’s no denying that he wants to put a winner on the field this coming season. Even last year’s trades for Yasiel Puig, Sonny Gray, Matt Kemp and Trevor Bauer were all done with winning in mind.

If Castellanos deal, as it’s being reported, is worth $64M, then Bob Castellini has put up $164M in free agent contracts this winter. That’s huge. For a franchise typically viewed by fans as small market, Bob is spending some big dough this offseason.

Now, the ownership has done their job. The front office has done their job. It’s time for the Cincinnati Reds players and coaches to do theirs. The other teams in the NL Central have stood pat or gotten worse. A division crown and return to the postseason is in sight. It’s time to put up or shut up. Let’s go!