3 worst Reds free agent signings since Nick Krall became GM

Nick Krall joined the Cincinnati Reds organization in 2003 as an advanced scout. The Reds' top executive has worked his way up through the ranks of the front office and was tabbed as Cincinnati's General Manager in May of 2018.

While Krall's title hasn't really changed since 2018, his responsibilities sure have. Dick Williams stepped down as Reds' President of Baseball Operations in October of 2020 and Krall has assumed the role of chief baseball operations officer since then.

Free agency has rarely been a friend to the Cincinnati Reds. In fact, it's rare that the Redlegs actually do more than sign veterans to minor league contracts. But there are a few occasions when Bob Castellini cracks open his wallet. What are the three worst free agent signings fans have witnessed since Krall took over the baseball operations department in 2020?

1. Reds GM Nick Krall made a mistake signing Colin Moran.

The Cincinnati Reds made more trades than free agent signings prior to the start of the 2022 season. After all, Nick Krall needed to align the team's payroll to their resources - which is GM-speak for cut payroll.

The Reds traded away Jesse Winker, Tucker Barnhart, Eugenio Suarez, Sonny Gray, and Amir Garrett before the season ever began. Cincinnati also waived Wade Miley and made zero effort to pursue Nick Castellanos in free agency.

But that's okay so long as Colin Moran is part of your Opening Day roster, right? The former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder was non-tendered during the offseason and became a free agent. Cincinnati signed Moran to a one-year/$1M contract.

Moran spent a handful of days in the big leagues with the Reds and had about a week's worth of games where the left-handed slugger played meaningful baseball. All together, Moran played a little over 40 games with the Reds in 2022 and posted an OPS of .681. The Reds designated Moran for assignment in September.