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3 Reds front office decisions that doomed the 2022 team from the start

By Drew Koch |
Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos (2) walks through the dugout.
Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos (2) walks through the dugout. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer via Imagn
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The Cincinnati Reds' 2022 season was over before it began. The front office made several moves heading into the season that doomed the campaign before the first pitch was thrown on Opening Day.

Nick Krall made it apparent even as early as the day after the 2021 World Series, that Cincinnati would be "aligning their payroll to their resources". In short, the Castellini family was uninterested in competing this past season because of lost revenue in 2020 and 2021.

But, as we all know, it was the fans who suffered. And with the Reds now squarely in the middle of another "rebuild", the Cincinnati faithful have little hope fr much success in 2023 as well. Which three front office decisions doomed the 2022 Cincinnati Reds from the start?

1. The Reds did not pursuing Nick Castellanos in free agency.

The Cincinnati Reds made a lot of mistakes prior to the start of the 2022 season, but this may have been one of the most egregious. After watching Nick Castellanos transform into an All-Star level player and lead the team in RBIs during the 2021 season, the Reds made absolutely no effort to retain his services.

Castellanos spoke about the Reds' lack of interest during an interview with Jomboy's Chris Rose back in April. Castellanos said that he never even received a phone call from the Reds. That's utterly shameful on the part of the Cincinnati front office.

Castellanos eventually signed a five-year/$100M contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, and while he had a down-year, most pundits expect the slugger to rebound during his second season in the Citty of Brotherly Love. Make no mistake, that contract was one the Reds could have afforded, especially with the contracts of Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas coming off the books after the 2023 season.

The Reds outfield was a disaster this season. Cincinnati trotted out the likes of Stuart Fairchild, TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, and Aristides Aquino. All four are serviceable, but not one is a major league-caliber starting outfielder. The Reds will be hoping that one of their young prospects (Jay Allen II, Rece Hinds, or Austin Hendrick) develop into some semblance of quality outfielder.

This was a swing-and-miss on the part of Nick Krall and the Reds front office. The team's lack of interest in retaining Nick Castellanos was one of their biggest failures that set the stage for a 100-loss season.

2. The Reds waived Wade Miley and traded for Mike Minor.

Allowing Nick Castellanos to sign elsewhere without even trying was negligent. But at least Cincinnati Reds received a compensatory pick (Sal Stewart) in the 2022 MLB Draft. Waiving Wade Miley and replacing him with Mike Minor is akin to malpractice.

After the season, Nick Krall claimed that he could find no trade partners for Wade Miley. So what did the Reds GM do? He released him! Wait, what? Wasn't this the same Wade Miley who emerged as Cincinnati's best starting pitcher in 2021 and threw a no-hitter against Cleveland? Yes.

Not only did the Reds waive Miley, but in doing so it allowed the veteran to sign with Cincinnati's division rival, the Chicago Cubs. The Reds waived Miley because the ownership did not want to pick up the $10M team-option in order to keep the left-hander in Cincinnati for the 2022 season.

Okay, that's somewhat understandable, right? With young pitchers like Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene on the cusp of the major leagues, and a stable of Tyler Mahle, Sonny Gray, and Luis Castillo, perhaps it makes sense not to hang on to an aging veteran who struggled down the stretch. But don't just give him away for nothing!

Furthermore, don't trade one of young relievers in exchange for the exact same type of pitcher, who's making the exact same salary, and put up worse numbers during the 2021 season. But that's exactly what the Cincinnati Reds did when they traded Amir Garrett to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Mike Minor.

Cincinnati could have held on to both Wade Miley and Amir Garrett, probably traded both prior to the 2022 season for a couple mid-level prospects, and entered the season with an extra $10M to spend. This move was next-level baboonery on the part of Nick Krall and the Cincinnati Reds front office.

3. The Reds attached Eugenio Suarez's contract to the trade with Seattle.

The Cincinnati Reds waved the white flag on March 14, 2022 when the front office traded Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, and two pitching prospects.

The flaw with this deal is not the fact that Cincinnati traded two of their top stars, but that the Reds attached Suarez's contract to Winker as part of the deal. Make no mistake, after two down-years, Suarez's value was at an all-time low. In fact, there's a chance the Reds might have received more "value" had they just dealt Winker to the Mariners.

While Reds fans remember the 2019 season where Geno smashed 49 home runs, he was coming off back-to-back seasons where he slashed a combined .199/.293/.444 and posted a wRC+ of just 88. Winker, however, had just put up his first of many feel could be several All-Star campaigns while hitting .309/.354/.556. Winker was the star or this trade, not Suarez.

Now Geno has gone on to have the type of season that so many throughout Reds Country assumed he would after being two years removed from offseason shoulder surgery. Suarez had his best season since the aforementioned 2019 campaign and is now beloved by the Seattle fans much the same way he was adored by the Cincinnati faithful.

The development of the young pitchers (Brandon Williamson and Connor Phillips) involved in the trade is irrelevant in terms of how poorly executed this trade was. It was, plain and simple, a salary dump. The only way the Cincinnati Reds were going to let Jesse Winker go was to attach the three years and $33M remaining on Geno's contract to a trade.

Seattle obliged, and they haven't looked back. To be honest, the Mariners may be more willing to return Winker than Suarez. The former Reds outfielder was a shell of himself in 2022 and, for the third time in four seasons, ended the season on the IL.

Next. 3 Reds who should be signed to contract extensions. dark

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