MLB mercifully gave the rebuilding Reds a softer schedule to begin the 2023 season

The Cincinnati Reds 2023 season will open on March 30th versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. After opening the 2022 season on the road against the defending champion Atlanta Braves due to the prolonged labor dispute, Cincinnati will begin the 2023 at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds, just like the Pirates, will be rebuilding in 2023, so it's only fitting that two teams meet on Opening Day. Cincinnati's second opponent of the 2023 season will also be one of the NL Central's rebuilding squads, the Chicago Cubs.

This will be a welcome change for a ball club that began the 2022 season with a record of 3-22. David Bell's group won 2-of-4 against the Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta and then lost 11 consecutive games before finally upending the St. Louis Cardinals on April 24th.

The Reds were manhandled during April 2022.

The 2022 season began with a four-game road trip against the World Champion Atlanta Braves. The Cincinnati Reds then faced the Guardians in the Ohio Cup against a Guardians team that was better than advertised.

The Reds then went on their west coast road trip that saw the club lose seven games in a row to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. It wasn't until Cincinnati returned home and picked up 4-1 win in the series finale versus the St. Louis Cardinals that the Reds won their third game of the season.

The Reds then closed out the month of April with a visit from the Padres, who swept the season series. Cincinnati then went out west and lost three straight games versus the Colorado Rockies. The Redlegs did not even win a series until the team took 2-of-3 from the Pirates during the first weekend of May.

The 1st month of the 2023 season should be a little better for the Reds.

There's a lot of time between now and Opening Day next year, but the task to win a series in April 2023 does not seem as daunting as it did this year. Of the Cincinnati Reds first 29 games, 16 teams are likely to finish below .500 this season.

While the Reds will have to deal with 10 straight games against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati will also have seven games versus the Pittsburgh Pirates and three against the Oakland A's.

While fans have no clue what next year's Reds Opening Day roster will look like, there has to be a bit more optimism. Of the Cincinnati Reds 21 games this past April, 19 were against teams who are likely headed to the postseason in 2022.