3 worst Reds free agent signings since Nick Krall became GM

3. Reds GM Nick Krall got very little after signing Hunter Strickland.

Hunter Strickland's best days were behind him by the time Nick Krall signed him to a one-year contract this past offseason. While the right-hander may have been a highly-regarded closer in the past, Strickland actually appeared for three different teams in 2021.

Strickland's 2.61 ERA in 2021 was rather impressive, but his two previous seasons yielded an ERA of 5.86. The Reds took a gamble that the player who pitched in 2021 was the one they'd be signing to work out of the bullpen in 2022. It turns out they got the pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, and Seattle Mariners from 2109-2020.

Strickland was a mistake waiting to happen almost every time that David Bell called upon him to pitch out of the Reds bullpen. It reached the point in August where Strickland's poor performances were so common that he was replaced in the backend of the Cincinnati bullpen by rookie right-hander Alexis Diaz.

Strickland ended his 2022 season with a 4.91 ERA and four blown saves in 11 chances. Strickland walked 33 batters in 62-plus innings of work last season. The right-hander will enter free agency again heading into theh 2023 season.

In baseball, you fail more often than you succeed. If a veteran can make it through 10 years and hit .300, he usually finds his way to the Hall of Fame. These three moves illustrate Nick Krall's failures in free agency during his first two years as the head of the Cincinnati Reds front office.