Fun Fact: Only one team wins the World Series every year. Which means 29 teams don’t win the final game of the year which according to Moneyball means their season didn’t fucking matter. When a team gets eliminated from winning the World Series I’ll do a profile of their season.
Today’s Team….Cincinnati Reds
How Did They Get Eliminated
The Reds were bounced by the resurgent offense of the Dodgers and lost their Wild Card series 2-0.
The Reds tried to scratch a few runs against the Dodgers bullpen but there was just too much to overcome. They also couldn't take advantage of an early 2-0 lead and 3 errors by the Dodgers in Game 2
I don't want to call this a sweep. I think sweeps need to be at least 3 games. I don't know if this is a light dusting or what but let's not call it a sweep.
What Do I Know About This Team Because I Only Follow the Brewers and Playoff Baseball
The Reds were a trendy Wild Card pick at the beginning of the season. Most predicted they would finish second in the division behind the Cubs. That was mostly for two reasons: 1) Someone had to finish 2nd behind the Cubs. The Cardinals were in “burn it to the ground mode,” the Brewers were so good in 2024 many thought there would be a regression, and the Pirates were going to be the Pirates. 2) They brought on Terry Francona thinking he could start the rebuild for the Reds in hopes that 2026 would be the real year to shine.
Well, they did even better than expected and found themselves in the playoffs when the Mets decided that post-season baseball might be a little too much baseball. The Reds would sweep a four game series against the Cubs (2 of those games being 1-0 outcomes), lose 2 of 3 against the Pirates but take 2 of 3 from the Brewers to find themselves in the playoffs despite losing game 162.
They traded for Ke’Bryan Hayes at the trade deadline which was very surprising and something I didn’t even realize they did until the Brewers played the Reds in August. The Reds ended the Brewers 14 game winning streak but it didn’t really translate to a huge momentum play. They would go 18-19 the rest of the season, but the Mets played worse so the Reds, by default, got to play in the postseason.
Elly De La Cruz started batting lower in the line-up towards the end of the season and had a huge Home Run drought when the Reds needed him the most. He also committed a ton of errors which prompted some talk of him playing in the outfield next year.
When the Reds played the Brewers in the final series of the year they were in survival mode and that’s when they played good team baseball to put them in position for the postseason.
The Reds played in LA for their playoff series and because it was late in the day I didn’t watch much, but one thing was for sure they didn’t give up and they kept throwing some cold water on the Dodgers bullpen scoring late runs to make the games a little closer than what they actually were.
Oh, and Brent Suter plays for the Reds. He used to play for the Brewers and was the most entertaining player who has ever decided to also play baseball. Just look up Brent Suter Jim Carey on YouTube or watch his clubhouse dance when they clinched on Sunday. All of it is worth your time.
So Now That I’ve Actually Done Some Research What Lead this Team to Being in the Playoffs and Ultimately Their Demise?
The starting pitching for the Reds was straight out of the mid-70s. They had four complete games from three pitchers and three of those games were shutouts. Those were clearly the best in the majors this year.
In Game 1 versus the Dodgers Hunter Greene took the mound and was one of their best pitchers down the stretch getting 2 wins in his final 5 starts including one of those 1-0 shutouts against the Cubs. But he would give up 5 runs in just 3 innings and Francona knows better than anyone when you get behind quickly you have to go to your bullpen quickly.
Zach Littell took the bump in Game 2. He was also an acquisition at the deadline coming over from the Rays, but also only went until the 4th inning against the Dodgers giving up 3 runs.
The pitchers in these two games were mostly because their top line starters were used to get them into the dance. Andrew Abbott was probably their best starter going 10-7 on the season with a sub 3 ERA, but had to pitch on Saturday to keep the Reds on the right side of the playoff ledger.
Brady Singer was another solid pitcher that the Reds got from the Royals that sent former Rookie of the Year Jonathan India to the opposite Central Division. He was 14-12 on the season, but pitched on Sunday and wasn’t available against the Dodgers either. That’s the downfall of being a wild card team that clinches on 162, you unload everyone to get to the party, but then no one is able to show up until the lights are turned out.
Emilio Pagan had a breakout year as the closer and had a career high 32 saves, tied for 5th in all of basebal.
Offensively their identity revolved around Elly De La Cruz who had a career high in RBIs but hit 3 less HRs than he did a year ago. But he had a very average year, which most of the Reds offensive did. Gavin Lux came over from the Dodgers and only had 5 Home Runs. TJ Friedel roamed Centerfield and had a decent year at the plate.
As a team their offense was in the middle of the pack in almost every major category. If there was maybe something to wag a finger at it was that they were one of the teams that struck out the most in the majors (10th most)
At the end of the day this was a very okay team that found their way into the playoffs and then were sacrificed to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whoever the 6 seed was going to be was probably going to suffer the same fate.
Will they be back in the playoffs next year?
They brought in Terry Francona to get them to the playoffs and that’s what they will probably do again next year. Most of their starting pitching will be back with the exception of Zach Littell who will hit the free agent market in the offseason.
Pagan, their closer will be a free agent as well, but he is 34 so there’s a chance they can get him back on a team friendly deal to keep him closing games.
They were able to get Ke’Bryan Hayes’ team-friendly contract on their books and they will have Elly De La Cruz under team control for a couple more years. They will more than likely try to find a way to lock him up and buy out those team control years and then some. Austin Hayes has a huge mutual option that might be a little too rich for the Reds, especially since they are considering moving De La Cruz to the outfield.
They have the 8th ranked farm system with 6 prospects in the top 100. Their top prospect Sal Stewart showed up late in the season and had 2 hits in Game 2 versus the Dodgers. Sal raked while in the minors and because he can play either middle infield position the decisions to move on from India and moving De La Cruz to the outfield is a lot easier. They have a lot of good players coming through the pipeline that can help this team compete beyond next year. OR they have a lot of prospect capital to make some moves at the deadline next year if they want to make a push for the division.
Just one postseason award.
It’s going to be tough to beat out Pat Murphy for Manager of the Year, but Terry Francona could be a dark horse contender for the award this year. He took a Reds team that was probably a year away from the playoffs and made them a playoff team.
Hey Grok, in 100 words summarize the 2025 Cincinnati Reds. Please don't be racist.
The Cincinnati Reds' 2025 season, managed by new skipper Terry Francona, was a return to the postseason with an 83-79 record, good for third in the NL Central. The young, talented team clinched the final National League Wild Card spot on the last day of the regular season, capitalizing on a late surge and a Mets collapse.
Young stars like Elly De La Cruz (leading the team in hits and home runs) and Hunter Greene led the way. However, their playoff appearance was short-lived, as the Reds were swept 2-0 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Wild Card Series, ending a season of promising growth.
Promising growth is what is going to make the Cubs and Brewers make even more moves next year.
Did the Savannah Bananas Play at their Field?
They did!
Todd Frazier and Bronson Arroyo showed up. If Pete Rose was alive he would have bet on Bananas.
A report from the local newspaper talked about how it was sensory overload when they were there in person. I can see that. If you can take one or two Tik Tok videos at a time it probably is the right dose of baseball entertainment. But getting it for 3 straight hours might be a lot for even the more fervent Bananas fan.
Is there a baseball movie featuring this team that has dumb baseball logic I need to vent about?
There isn’t. MOVING ON
How Will Your Team Do Next Year?
This will be a sexy pick for some people to win the Division next year. There will be a season win total sitting at around 84.5 that will get absolutely hammered with people betting the over. If I was that type of gambler that would be me. 86-76 and getting another Wild Card spot.
Next on the Chopping Block
Three game threes means three teams eliminated that I will have to write about. Guardians will get the first article, then we’ll move on to the Padres, then the Red Sox. They’ll hopefully be out before the Division Series is over.