CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds have fired manager David Bell, the team announced Sunday night.
Bell, 52, was in his sixth season as the Reds manager. He was given a three-year contract extension through the 2026 season last July. He went 409-456 in those six years with just one playoff appearance, in the COVID-shortened 2020 season when the team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Atlanta Braves.
The Reds are 76-81 this season following Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bench coach Freddie Benavides will serve as the interim manager for the final five games of the season.
“David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said in the team’s press release. “We felt a change was needed to move the Major League team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected, and we need to begin focusing on 2025.”
The Reds entered 2024 as a favorite in the National League Central following a surprise 83-80 season in 2023. The Reds dealt with multiple injuries in spring training, including to second baseman Matt McLain and center fielder TJ Friedl. The team also dealt with the suspension of rookie third baseman Noelvi Marte, who served an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.
The Reds entered May 16-14, but went 9-18 that month, losing eight straight games from April 30 to May 9.
A year after going 34-29 in one-run games, the Reds are just 15-27 in one-run games this season.
The 2023 Reds were one of the feel-good stories of the year, but finished two games out of the final wild-card spot after going 32-39 in the second half of the season.
Expectations were buoyed by a class of rookies that included McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer to go along with a talented, if inexperienced, rotation featuring Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo.
The team added veteran Jeimer Candelario to a three-year, $45 million deal, but the 30-year-old was limited to 112 games and hit just .225/.279/.429 with 20 homers. The team also brought in veteran pitchers Nick Martinez and Frankie Montas. Martinez has served as a swingman, starting the season in the rotation before going to the bullpen and returning to the rotation to finish the year as injuries mounted in the pitching staff. Montas was traded to Milwaukee at the trade deadline.
Bell is the only manager any of the players on the team have played for with the Reds, with his tenure predating the debut of the likes of Tyler Stephenson and Jonathan India, the players with the most tenure in a Reds uniform.
A year ago, the Reds were lauded for their aggressive play on the base paths. This season, they lead baseball in outs on the bases (65), but are also second in steals (205) and in FanGraphs’ base running runs above average (17.2).
The record on the team’s defense is clearer — it has been bad. Much of that started with the injuries, beginning the season without two up-the-middle defenders in Friedl and McLain. The Reds’ 95 errors are fourth-most in baseball and their minus-20 outs above average 25th in baseball, according to Statcast.
The next manager will inherit a talented young core, centered around De La Cruz, who is just 22 and finishing his first full big-league season. An All-Star this year, De La Cruz is hitting .261/.343/.476 with 25 home runs and 65 stolen bases. Although De La Cruz leads the majors with 28 errors, he’s still rated among the best shortstops in the game in the advanced metrics, at 13 outs above average, according to Statcast.
The new manager will also inherit a young, talented pitching staff including Greene, Andrew Abbott, Lodolo and Rhett Lowder, last year’s top draft pick, who is off to a strong start over the last month.
Hall of Famer Barry Larkin has long been considered a favorite of ownership and a possible future manager after spending the last four seasons in the broadcast booth. Former Red Skip Schumaker, the 2023 NL Manager of the Year, would be atop any team’s wishlist, but there is likely to be plenty of competition for Schumaker, whose contract with the Miami Marlins is up after this season.
Bell is a native of Cincinnati and a graduate of Moeller High School, the alma mater of Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin. The son of five-time All-Star Buddy Bell, he’s the third generation of Bells to wear the Reds uniform, joining his grandfather Gus, father and brother Mike, all of whom played for the Reds. David Bell played parts of 12 seasons with Cleveland, St. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
(Photo of David Bell: Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
