4 bold offseason moves Nick Krall must make to justify the Reds keeping him around

To the surprise of most Cincinnati Reds fans, it appears that president of baseball operations Nick Krall will return in 2027. The team's lack of success this season had most of the Cincinnati faithful predicting at change at the top, but it would seem that the Reds ownership group sees things differently.

The reasons for Krall's return may be unfounded, but the bottom line is that he'll be making the decisions for the Reds this offseason. After an embarrassing stretch of baseball in 2026, Krall will need to put on his big-boy pants and make some bold moves this coming winter.

Krall typically operates with a conservative approach, but with Elly De La Cruz entering Year 1 of his arbitration window, Cincinnati's leadership can no longer maintain such a passive approach to roster construction. The Reds need to prioritize winning in 2027. What four bold moves does Krall need pull off in order to justify the Reds' faith in his abilities?

4 bold offseason moves Nick Krall must make this winter

Find a way to trade Hunter Greene and get his 2027 salary off the books

This may not be popular, but it's necessary. Krall and the Reds need to give up on their dreams of Hunter Greene becoming the ace of their starting staff and find a team willing to take on the remainder of his contract knowing he won't pitch next season.

When healthy, Greene is arguably a top-5 starting pitcher. His salary for the next two seasons is a bargain if he stays off the IL. For the Reds, however, those numbers ($15.3 million in 2027 and $16.3 million in 2028) hang like an albatross around their neck. With a payroll unlikely to top $130 million, Greene's sunk cost effectively takes up 12% of the Reds' 2027 budget.

There's no way the Reds are going to get true value for Greene, but getting that $15 million off the books for 2027 would allow Krall and Co. to re-invest that money into next year's roster. Which brings us to the next item on Krall's offseason to-do list.

Trade one of the Reds top prospects for an establish MLB-caliber starter

Heading into 2027, the Reds will have a starting rotation comprised of Chase Burns, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Brandon Williamson, and Rhett Lowder. Outside of Burns, there's a lot of question marks among the Reds' starters. Cincinnati needs to bolster their rotation this offseason, and the answer doesn't include extending a qualifying offer to Brady Singer.

Krall needs to put some of the Reds' top prospects on the trade block. Alfredo Duno and Justin Lebron should be off limits, but there are plenty of other names who could help bring back a big-league caliber arm.

Steele Hall, Tyson Lewis, Liberts Aponte, and Jirvin Morillo are all talented players, but they're also three-plus years away from making it to the big leagues. With De La Cruz under team control for just three more seasons, Cincinnati's leadership may need to mortgage some of their future assets to help the club win in 2027.

Release Ke'Bryan Hayes and eat the remainder of his contract

This move might not be considered as much bold as it is necessary. That said, the Reds don't like to waste money, and releasing Ke'Bryan Hayes would cost them a pretty penny. Hayes has $29 million remaining on his current deal that stretches into the 2029 season.

That's $7 million more than the Reds paid Mike Moustakas after releasing him in 2023, but Moose's contract was set to expire after that season anyway. Dumping Hayes with three years remaining would be extreme, but his bat has been unplayable this season (-18 batting run value according to Baseball Savant).

This is a gut-check move by Krall. Does he have the intestinal-fortitude — and the permission from ownership — to admit defeat and release Hayes this offseason. The Reds don't have a great internal replacement at the moment, but could conceivably move Sal Stewart to the hot corner and insert Spencer Steer at first base. At this point, even a replacement-level player would be an improvement over Hayes.

Give Alfredo Duno every chance to make the Reds 2027 Opening Day roster

There's obviously a difference between being bold and bring foolish, but the Reds may have to take a giant risk and give their top prospect the opportunity to make Opening Day roster next spring. Duno's bat is already Major League-ready. The question is whether or not he's ready to be an everyday backstop behind the dish.

Despite the cries from the fanbase, all signs point to Tyler Stephenson leaving via free agency this offseason. That leaves Jose Trevino at the Reds' everyday catcher. Outside of Stephenson and Ryan Jeffers, there's no catchers of note who'll be available on the free agent market.

Duno has absolutely obliterated minor league pitching this season. An injury kept him off the field for a few weeks during the month of August, but in 97 games, he's hitting a combined .281/.395/.504 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI. There's always a risk with promoting prospects too soon, but Duno could be that rare case where an accelerated promotion actually works.

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