Pirates and Marlins' offseason strategy will cause Reds fans to lose patience

There's a gulf between what Cincinnati Reds fans want to see this offseason and what the club is prepared to do. To an extent, that will always be the case for a small-market team like the Reds, but given where they are in their ascent, the gap in expectations feels more dire.

Be that as it may, Nick Krall has made it clear that payroll will remain flat, and despite the money coming off the books, arbitration raises are set to erase nearly all the wiggle room the franchise could obtain.

If that wasn't frustrating enough, the latest news coming from other cash-strapped clubs will have Reds fans ready to hit the roof. The leaders of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the perennial-in-fire-sale-mode Miami Marlins have come out and said they're looking to spend more in 2026. These are two of the stingiest clubs in the game, and we're talking about them being players in free agency while the Reds are preparing to sit on the sidelines. It's infuriating.

The Pirates and Marlins talking about opening their wallets should have Reds fans livid

First off, it's good for baseball whenever a club that is infamously cheap decides to make more than a token effort to compete, so on that end, even Reds fans need to be okay with this news. But on the other hand, it's mind-boggling to think that these two can do it, but Cincinnati, a team on the verge of leveling up into the next tier of contention, is happy to just sit on its hands.

To be fair, by total payroll allocations, there was quite a chasm between the Reds and these two franchises. Cincinnati wasn't a big spender in 2025 by any stretch; their $119 million payroll was 23rd in baseball and $8 million dollars shy of what the lowly Colorado Rockies spent. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was 28th at $79.9 million and the Marlins brought up the rear at $67.8 million.

These two opening up their wallets simply means that they're entering Reds' territory, not that they're blowing them out of the water.

However, the Pirates are a long way away from contending, and while the Marlins have the better roster between the two, they play in a much more competitive division, having to contend with the big-spending New York Mets, an Atlanta Braves team that is motivated to right the wrongs of 2025, and the formidable Philadelphia Phillies. As a contender, they likely don't have much of a shot.

Cincinnati does, though. The Chicago Cubs might take a step back if they lose Kyle Tucker and fail to adequately replace him. The Milwaukee Brewers are always tough, but as a small-market club themselves, there's always a point where attrition catches up with them.

The Reds made the playoffs thanks to a magical second-half run, but were quickly outclassed once they got there. That doesn't mean that this team can't make some noise with a few key additions, but those additions require money to be spent. If they're unwilling to do that, it's entirely possible that the stock arrow flips downward on their future prospects, and if that happens while the most miserly teams in baseball magically decide it's okay to spend, it will be absolutely gutting.