Key 2022 offseason dates for the Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds enter the offseason with a boatload of questions. Will Nick Castellanos opt out of his current contract? Will the team pick up Wade Miley's $10M team-option? How about Tucker Barnhart's $7.5M club-option? Who will be non-tendered? Will the Redlegs make a splash in free agency? Let's look at some of the key dates this offseason.

The GM Meetings begin on November 9th. This event serves as the lead up to Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings. It's not uncommon, during these meetings, for the groundwork to be laid for any potentially groundbreaking offseason trade.

What are some key offseason dates for the Reds?

November 10th will likely be a key date for Reds' slugger Nick Castellanos. If Cincinnati's right fielder decides to opt out of the remaining two years and $38M on his current deal, you'll likely see the front office extend a qualifying offer to Castellanos. That allows the club to receive draft pick compensation in the event Castellanos signs elsewhere this winter.

Castellanos has to make a decision if a QO is extended. Will the 29-year-old accept or decline the offer which is valued at $18.4M? It's an interesting question. On the one hand, it's an additional $2.4M more than Castellanos is scheduled to make in 2022. On the other hand, it's only a one-year deal and Castellanos could have some lucrative offers on the table. This will be an intriguing story to follow.

Another important date to mark on your calendars is November 19th. This is the deadline for team's to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Look for Hunter Greene to be the biggest roster addition prior to the deadline.

The non-tender deadline is December 1st. All teams are required to tender a contract to all pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible players. The list of players likely to be non-tendered by the Reds could be longer than expected.

Last offseason, we saw Cincinnati non-tender Archie Bradley and Curt Casali. This year, players like Amir Garrett, Aristides Aquino, and Jeff Hoffman may be among those the Redlegs decide with whom to part ways.

MLB's Winter Meetings commence December 6th in Orlando, Florida and run through December 9th with the Rule 5 Draft taking place on the final day of the event. The meetings are expected to return to in-person this offseason after the Winter Meetings were held virtually last year due the COVID-19 pandemic.

January 14th is the last big date of the 2021-22 offseason, as team's will exchange arbitration figures. Teams will have until early February to come to terms on a agreement with arbitration-eligible players. The Cincinnati Reds have nine players who are eligible for arbitration this offseason with the most prominent names being Jesse Winker, Luis Castillo, and Tyler Mahle.