5 moves from the Cincinnati Reds 2021 season that didn't work out

4. The Reds signed Dee Strange-Gordon to play shortstop.

Ugh! This was, perhaps, one of those moves that set the tone for the 2021 season. On the bright side, however, the Cincinnati Reds overcame this penny-pinching transaction the part of the ownership and front office and almost landed in the playoffs. So I guess there's hope for the 2022 season after all.

The Reds went into the offseason with one mission; find a starting shortstop. After allowing Freddy Galvis to enter free agency, Cincinnati had their pick of Andrelton Simmons, Didi Gregorius, and Marcus Semien; all of whom were rumored to be of interest to the Reds.

Well, Simmons signed with the Minnesota Twins, Gregorius re-upped with the Philadelphia Phillies, and to the surprise of many, Semien inked a one-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. That left the Cincinnati Reds with Kyle Farmer as the team's starting shortstop on Opening Day. Had we known then what we know now, most of Reds Country would have been fine with that scenario.

But, it was deemed necessary to upgrade the shortstop position, so Nick Krall and the Reds front office decided to sign, wait for it, Dee Strange-Gordon. Okay, Strange-Gordon is a fine utility player with years of big league experience, but he hadn't played shortstop regularly since his stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-2013).

Thankfully, Cincinnati made the right call and dismissed Strange-Gordon before the season began. Had the Reds not been so cheap, they could have come to terms with Jonathan Villar. The infielder spurned the Redlegs and instead inked a one-year deal with the New York Mets. Villar went on to post a .738 OPS and racked up 18 home runs.