3 bold moves to turn the Reds into a title contender

The Cincinnati Reds had a winning record in 2021 but fell short of their ultimate goal; making it to the postseason. But, is merely making it to the playoffs enough or should Reds Country expect their team to contend for a World Championship?

Cincinnati's front office has a lot of questions heading into the offseason, but it appears that the groundwork has been laid for next year's team to be, at the very least, competitive in a winnable NL Central Division.

The Reds need to be bold this offseason.

If Wade Miley's club-option is picked up, the Reds have the ability to retain all five starting pitchers. Some young, exciting prospects seem poised to make their major league debut in 2022, and we saw in 2021 that Joey Votto still bangs.

While one could argue that the Milwaukee Brewers are the class of the National League Central, that core of young players are about to get more expensive. MLB Trade Rumors predicts the Brew Crew will owe their arbitration-eligible players nearly $46M next season.

Christian Yelich, who was about as bad as Eugenio Suárez this season, will also receive a $12M bump in salary. So the Brewers' payroll is about to go way up, meaning their front office will also have some difficult decisions as well.

The St. Louis Cardinals made a mad dash at the end of last season to secure the final NL playoff spot only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card Game. The Cardinals have a lot of questions heading into the offseason as well.

If the Cincinnati Reds front office and ownership are serious about being contenders in 2022, this is no time to sit on their hands. The Reds have to be aggressive this offseason and here are three bold moves that would turn Cincinnati into contenders next season.