Williams: Your move, Castellini family. Terry Francona got everything he could out of the 2025 Reds. Now ownership needs to get him a hitter.
LOS ANGELES – Your move, Castellini family.
Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona got everything he could out of the 2025 roster. President Nick Krall and his player personnel staff maximized their limited resources. And many of those one-time players-of-the-future came of age, taking the Reds to the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2013.
But the Reds still didn't come close to beating the big-money Los Angeles Dodgers, even in a short wild card series. The Dodgers made quick work of the Reds this week, finishing off the sweep with an 8-4 victory at electrified Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.
Now it's time for Bob Castellini and his ownership group to do their part. Pony up for the hitter the Reds desperately need.
“You want to win the World Series," Reds center fielder TJ Friedl said as many of his teammates walked around the clubhouse hugging each other. "You want to be champions, but there’s steps along the way. Falling short is where you build your stepping stones. You remember this feeling.”
The next step is for ownership to expand the payroll and give Krall the resources to compete for a worthy free-agent bat. Pete Alonso? Kyle Scwarber? Some may laugh at that and fall back on the small-market excuse. But the goal is championship baseball. Castellini said so himself when he bought the team in 2006.
There are no gurantees the Reds will get that bat. But they have to go for it, either in free agency or via trade. That bat is what'll give the Reds a legitimate shot to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies and Brewers. Otherwise, what happened here is as good as it's going to get for the Reds, who've now officially gone 30 seasons without winning a playoff series.
Look no further than the sixth inning in the Reds' final game for further proof of how badly that middle-of-the-order bat is needed. Down 3-2, the Reds loaded the bases with no outs. They didn't score a run.
Austin Hays, who batted cleanup but isn't a big-league cleanup hitter, grounded into a fielder’s choice to shortstop Mookie Betts, who threw home to easily force out TJ Friedl. One out.
What else is new?
Rookie Sal Stewart, who the Reds brought up late to try jumpstart the lineup, struck out swinging. Two outs.
Not again?
Elly De La Cruz struck out swinging. Some 50,465 fans erupted and waved blue towels.
Yep.
That's what the Reds got from the heart of their order in a must-win game.
It summed up the 2025 Reds perfectly.
And just to hammer home the point to ownership, the Reds loaded the bases again in the eighth inning. Friedl, the leadoff hitter, struck out looking to end the threat.
The Reds were 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position in the series. They struck out 25 times.
It's impressive this team even made it to the postseason with such a light-hitting lineup. It's certainly a testament to the future hall of fame manager the Reds hired after last season and to the organization's ability to develop pitchers.
And to those pesky "cockroaches" in the lineup who found a way to scratch just enough runs across in the right games to outlive the New York Mets and get that final wild card spot. They've been exterminated for the year. Will there be a new intrusion in 2026?
The underdog cockroaches thing is fun to a point. But ownership can't be content to think the core of the 2025 team can help the Reds take the next step. The run-it-back approach doesn't work. Cincinnati sports fans have seen enough of that in recent years with the Bengals, who've not done much to improve since the Super Bowl run in 2021.
Sure, Tito and this group might be able to get back to the postseason. But just getting there is no longer acceptable.
The Reds aren't going to win over a new generation of fans by just being competitive and then getting bounced in the first series of the playoffs.
Reds CEO Phil Castellini, the owner's son, told The Enquirer this week that making it to the posteason "is just the beginning" and "we're gonna do a lot of special things with Terry Francona."
That sounds nice. Now show everyone this winter you mean it.
Contact columnist Jason Williams at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Los Angeles Dodgers sweep exposes how badly Cincinnati Reds need bat
Category: General Sports
