The Cincinnati Reds are in teardown mode.
After trading away Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners, it’s clear that the Reds do not plan on winning in 2022.
They are now thin in several areas, and the trade yesterday comes just over 24 hours after shipping Sonny Gray off to the Minnesota Twins.
After winning 83 games in 2021, which would have gotten them to the playoffs had the format been 12 teams last year, as it is now, the Reds roster is now minus Winker, Saurez, Gray, Nick Castellanos, Wade Miley, Tucker Barnhart, and Michael Lorenzen, with more moves to follow, according to Reds insider Lance McAlister.
#Reds 83 win team in 2021 is now minus
Nick Castellanos
Jesse Winker
Eugenio Suarez
Wade Miley
Sonny Gray
Tucker Barnhart
Michael Lorenzen
……and counting— Lance McAlister (@LanceMcAlister) March 14, 2022
Tanking Still A Problem
Clearly, the Reds are tanking, and the new CBA hasn’t done much to try and stop tanking.
This has to have the players union seething.
After working hard to reach a fair deal which curbed tanking, there are still teams engaging in that practice.
And it’s odd to see the Reds giving away so much of their talent.
As mentioned above, this team would have reached the postseason if the format was what it is now, 12 teams instead of 10.
They could have held onto their stars and tried to stay competitive in the NL Central.
But with them selling pieces off and the Chicago Cubs having not done much outside of signing Marcus Stroman, the NL Central looks to be a two-team race between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Reds, while still having Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto, Jonathan India, and Luis Castillo, do not appear to want to win in 2022, but rather save money.
Maybe some other moves are coming.
Maybe there’s something we don’t know yet.
But as of now, the Reds appear to be tanking.
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