The Reds are proving David Bell was never the real problem

David Bell was fired on September 22, 2024 after failing to lead the Cincinnati Reds to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Very few tears were shed when the announcement was made, with most Reds fans ready to turn the page.

After a quick search, the Reds hired future Hall of Famer Terry Francona to take over as the team's manager heading into the 2025 season. Francona led the Reds to the postseason during his first year in Cincinnati — and though the team was eliminated from the playoffs after just two games — most fans assumed 2026 was the year for the ole Redlegs to make some noise in October.

Instead, the Reds are 12 games below .500 and 26 games back of the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers. Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin said during Sunday's broadcast following a 9-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, "We are so, so far behind.”

This is the second time in less than three years that Larkin has uttered such a sentiment. Before Bell was fired, Larkin essentially called the team's 2024 performance mediocre. It would seem, however, that Bell was not the real problem.

The Reds real problem is bigger than who resides in the manager's office

This isn't meant as an outright defense of Bell. He got plenty of things wrong during his tenure as the Reds manager. But Francona had a similar group to Bell last season, and the team's record only improved by six games — 77 wins (2024) to 83 wins (2025).

Francona will be fortunate to see 77 wins this season. The Reds would have to go 5-1 over their final six games just to make that reality, and if you subtract the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the team's rebuilding year in 2022, Tito could finish with fewer wins than Bell's first year at the helm (75 wins in 2019).

It's painfully obvious to anyone with three brain cells and two eyes that president of baseball operations Nick Krall is the real problem (though the Reds' ownership group certainly has their part to play as well). Krall has been entrusted with the team's decision making since taking over for Dick Williams in 2020.

Bell managed 865 games from the Reds' dugout and finished with a 409-456 (.473) record. During Francona's first two seasons in Cincinnati, he's 155-163 (.462). That's not the type of record you expect to see from a future Hall of Fame manager. Simply put, it's not Tito's fault. Moreover, it wasn't Bell's fault either.

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