2/28/2020

7:58 PM

The Cincinnati Reds are one of the most exciting teams to keep an eye on this season. Pegged to finish fourth in the NL Central via Fangraphs Zips Projected Standings headed into the season, it’s important to note they’re 81-81 record would have them four-game back of the NL Central winner the Chicago Cubs. I’m not exactly on board with the Cubbies only winning 85 games, but more importantly, I see the Reds as a better team than 81 wins, a division that has some very solid teams, but every one of these teams has their deficiencies:
Chicago Cubs: Starting Pitching, everything besides Kimbrel is unproven in Bullpen
Cincinnati Reds: Bullpen
Milwaukee Brewers: Starting Pitching, Overworked Bullpen
Pittsburgh Pirates: Everything (Sorry Pirates Fans)
St. Louis Cardinals: Bullpen, Everything after Flaherty in the Starting Rotation

As you see here, every team in the division has multiple deficiencies. Still, the Reds have added the thump to the lineup this offseason with FA signs of Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos; they also added Trevor Bauer at last year’s trade deadline. With young talent emerging from the farm in Nick Senzel and “The Punisher” Aristides Aquino has put the Reds in a great spot, especially when you can put this talent around Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez.

As mentioned earlier, the addition of Bauer gives the Reds a solid three-headed monster at the top of the rotation with Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray. Castillo is coming off a career year, which included his first all-star nod in his short three-year career; Gray found himself at the all-star game as well despite the 11-8 record he finished seventh in ERA with a 2.78 ERA. This rotation now looks like a strength when coming into the year; we didn’t know what to expect from it.

Here is the problem with the Big Red Machine, the pen. Now they’ve got a good set up man in Amir Garrett who’s a brick shit house that throws absolute noise and will try and fight a whole team by himself if the opportunity arises. They also have a freak of a human in Mike Lorenzen. I tend to wonder how a man with those massive biceps can throw as hard as he does, but that’s why he’s in the grandes, and I’m here writing this on my couch. Aside from those two large humans, they don’t have much in terms of relief pitching, Raisel Iglesias is slotted in as the closer. Still, he’s been up and down in terms of production out of that role if memory serves me right he was groomed to be a starter coming through the farm system.

Final Take:
The Reds have shown they are ready to compete with the looming DH spot likely headed to the NL in 2021 it looks like the Reds could slot a guy like Mouse in there and have a massive power hitting and run-producing lineup for the foreseeable future. If the Reds can lock soon to be free agent Trevor Bauer up long term, get a shutdown guy for the ninth and another arm or two for the pen they will be a force to be wreckin with come playoff time, a series where you’re running out the likes of Bauer, Castillo, and Gray to the nipple… good luck scoring runs.