Fix the Reds

9/16/2026

Release K’Bryan Hayes — don’t get me started on the trade (or signing Jamier) as Krall spent $86 million over an 18-month span to fill the hole at 3B when their #1 prospect was a 3B … it’s a sunk cost, play him and you win less, release or trade him (good luck) and you win more. Only way to trade him is to package him with someone good on a trade and get less in the trade for taking on Hayes’ money – problem is the Reds don’t have anyone good to pair him with. To be played that badly by Pittsburgh in that trade is like herpes, it will never go away.

Don’t even think of giving Brady Singer a Qualifying Offer. When they couldn’t trade him for anything at the deadline gives us ample data that perhaps he isn’t worth $22,000,000 (or 1/6 of the team payroll). Plus, his ERA is 5.60 and he has 14 losses.

Nick, hot tip – don’t just gaze at the picture of the player on the front of the baseball card, turn the card over and look at the stats before you spend big money. It would have saved us from Jamier and K’Bryan and gawd knows what other plans you might dream up while watching TV.

Nothing personal, but call Jenny Craig for Abbott – either he was never that good and got hot last year for a few months, or he is that good and now looks more like the Abbott in Abbot & Costello that a MLB player. Analysts have pointed to mechanical inconsistencies, pitch execution, difficulty getting deep into games, and a drop-off in production the third time through the order as the primary reasons – or more likely he’s thinking of the post-game spread and how getting hit hard gets him out of the game by the 5th inning and into the clubhouse first to feast.

Players not on the 2027 roster include … Friedle, Hayes, Benson (good lord, I gave my first wife more chances than the Reds have given him), Singer, Suarez (Jim Day may need meds to get over the loss), Luis Mey (we could ask the guy or girl who throws out the Ceremonial First Pitch to launch one high into the backstop if anyone wants to honor Luis) and a host of others too meaningless to mention.

Sal Stewart to 3B full time, sign a free agent to play 1B who can hit

I kinda like JJ Bleday so sign him for a couple years … guess we could bring Steer back as he can play anywhere – but to me, he isn’t an everyday player.

Matt McLain is my favorite – he does everything in baseball the right way – except get on base which is sort of important. You can’t be an everyday player in MLB with a .279 OB%. He once was good, had the shoulder injury and hasn’t been – or is it the hitting coaches (my vote is the hitting coaches blow and have these guys thinking instead of reacting).

If you listen to the Reds’ TV broadcast, Barry Larkin is pretty much telling us every game why the Reds can’t hit. He says over and over that they don’t let the ball travel, they pull their shoulders, on and on … 29th in team batting average — I’d be fired in the real world with this data as my performance … but let’s keep the same hitting coaches as they know what they’re doing.

They missed the window to sign Tyler Stephenson for a few more years. A couple years ago they could have but he was so bad they didn’t want to – he’s been pretty good this year but many guys focus more in their ‘contract year’ – don’t buy it … let him go.

Bring up Duno to catch in 2027 – and anyone else promising too. Other teams bring up their young guys (and sign them to long-term deals too in order to control costs). Of course, these teams also know how to identify talent, develop talent, trade for talent and not chase big money talent. Reds do not posses any of those skills. Pirates brought up a 19 year old shortstop and gave him $110 million – Reds have the unanimous 2026 Rookie of the Year almost begging for a long-term deal, but Phil’s checkbook is still lodged in his colon.

Don’t buy the Castellini’s excuse that the Reds are a small market team and need to limit payroll. That family has run very successful businesses for decades, if they weren’t making a MINT on the Reds, they would have sold them years ago.

Quit drafting shortstops in the draft because you think they can play anywhere. Likely they can, but that doesn’t mean they can hit at all. You don’t draft for need in baseball but drafting SS’s just because they’re versatile is not working. Power hitting first basemen and outfielders are going to be better hitters than the SS you flipped to CF. Where is the data that the Reds have players drafted at SS that are superstars or even good at other positions. None – and the fact that successful mid-market teams like the Brewers, Guardians and Rays don’t do it, tells us a lot.

Tito’s last year is 2027 – Reds likely won’t compete but at least he can still go into the HOF right away. Managers don’t have to wait five years after retiring to get voted in as long as they’re over 65 years old. Reds stain on his resume will not be helpful but all of baseball knows the Reds are a mild laughingstock so he’ll get a free pass for essentially sitting in the dugout for three years eating sunflower seeds off the dirty and nasty dugout railing and collecting $12,000,000.

Quit complaining that the Castellini’s won’t spend money. They won’t — but other teams spend around the same amount as the Reds and win all the time. The blame rests on Nick Krall – he might be smart as shit, but his track record is deplorable. I could gather 4 of my friends and we could do a better job collectively than him. We’d do it for free too.

Oh there’s more coming soon as the Reds continue their merry path of ineptitude.