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

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.