Will the Reds follow the Marlins' plan of action and part ways with David Bell?

It was recently revealed that the Miami Marlins and manager Don Mattingly have mutually decided to part ways. Will the Cincinnati Reds follow suit and fire David Bell after the 2022 season comes to a close?

Last September, the Cincinnati Reds and David Bell agreed to a two-year contract extension. That means that the Reds skipper is under contract through next season.

The Reds have certainly fallen well below expectations, however, there are a lot of circumstances surrounding this year's team that have nothing to do with Bell. Will the Reds and Bell part ways after this season?

Will the Reds follow the Marlins' plan of action and part ways with David Bell?

There are a lot of similarities between Don Mattingly and David Bell. Donnie Baseball took over as manager of the Marlins in 2016 and in six-plus seasons, the Miami skipper has recorded just one winning season (2020) that resulted in a trip to the postseason.

In the same way, Bell has only led the Reds to the playoffs once in his nearly four years as the head man in the Cincinnati dugout. Much like Mattingly, that was also during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season when the postseasons was expanded to 16 teams.

The Cincinnati Reds have finished in third-place or worse during three of Bell's four seasons at the helm. However, this season's shortcomings have little-to-nothing to do with the manager. The Reds front office gutted this team before the season began, and even Sparky Anderson wouldn't have been able to squeeze even 75 wins out of this year's team.

If David Bell isn't back in 2023 it'll be because he no longer wants to be Cincinnati's manager. As frugal as the Reds franchise has been over the years, and with Bell's father Buddy serving as an advisor to Nick Krall, it's hard to see the club firing their manager with one year remaining on his contract after a season that was doomed from the start.

You can't blame this season's shortcomings on the manager. While there's a contingent of Reds fans that want to see David Bell shown the door, even the most ardent Bell haters must agree that there's little more the Cincinnati Reds' skipper could have done this season to put his team in contention.