Where Do The Reds Really Stand Heading Into This Season?

As is the case almost every year, everyone around the game of baseball has a difficult time reading the Cincinnati Reds and trying to decipher the code as to where they stand. Are they going for it? Are they standing pat and trying to groom the youngsters they have? Or are they looking to continue the rebuild process and add a few little pieces here and there throughout the process? All of these are questions that everyone seems to ask and are even more magnified this season given what's happened in the NL Central.

The Cubs have made moves to get better with the additions of Brandon Morrow, Steve Cishek, Tyler Chatwood, and Drew Smyly, the Cardinals have improved with the signings of free agents, Mike Mikolas and Luke Gregerson, and the Brewers have made a lot of noise as of late with the addition of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain yesterday. Furthermore, the Pirates have taken a bit of a step back after trading starting pitcher, Gerit Cole, and outfielder, Andrew McCutchen in two separate deals with the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants as well. So overall, there has been a lot of activity and movement within the NL Central, but yet the Reds are sitting still and not doing much, which might be seen as a disservice to their fans by some.

Dating back to the end of the 2015 season, the Reds have had a payroll under $100 million dollars. In 2016, the payroll stood at about $90 million dollars, last year it was $95.4 million, and going into this coming season it currently projects out to be around $99 million after player benefits and 40-man roster considerations are taken into account. During the Red's championship run a few years ago from 2013 to 2015, the payroll was above $110 million dollars every single season and peaked at $119 million right after the 2015 season.

Given those numbers and the market that Cincinnati plays in, one has to wonder why the Reds don't do more to not only give their fanbase something to be excited about, but to also support one of the best baseball towns in the country. Baseball in Cincinnati dates way back, the fans have established their own traditions around the game over that time, and the Reds have long been a staple in the local community. Small market teams, such as the Reds, have to be careful with how much money they spend, but they also need to create a brand of baseball that fans can support and give their fans something to cheer about. When you play in a baseball town like Cincinnati, you can't afford to give out a Zack Greinke like contract, but you also can't afford to lose your fans and risk not having them show up at the ballpark simply because there is nothing to cheer about or anything that excites them. You have to find a way to delicately balance both of those factors, while looking for ways to put a competitive team on the field every season.

The Reds can only continue to say their focused on the future so many times before the fans start to grow disgruntled with the entire process and stop supporting the team altogether which seems to be what's happening. Sure, you don't see fans rioting outside of Great American Ballpark or taking to Twitter and making General Manager, Dick Williams, and his staff look like fools. Instead, you can pick up on the disappointment when other teams in the division and the National League are making moves, while the Reds are doing nothing but saying that they're focused on the future and would rather build from within than reach out for further supplements outside of the organization.

Besides signing second baseman, Phil Gosselin, and catcher, Tony Cruz, to minor league contracts, the only significant move that Cincinnati has made this winter was the signing of free agent relief pitcher, Jared Hughes, who previously pitched for the rival Milwaukee Brewers. Hughes is a nice addition to the bullpen, but Cincinnati cannot continue to make small moves like that and expect to take significant leaps forward in terms of being competitive and keeping their fan base happy. Rather, ownership needs to step up to the plate and spend some money on significant additions that come via free agency.

New rankings haven't been released, but according to Baseball Pipeline, the Reds had the 9th best farm system in the game at the start of last season which has been one positive building block over the course of their almost 3-year rebuild. Small market teams, like Cincinnati, have to be able to develop from within and then supplement that core of players through free agency. Given that notion, this winter is the perfect time for the Reds to hit the free agent market hard, while the big suitors like the Dodgers and Yankees can't spend a lot, and look for ways to add stability to their pitching staff. All four of the big free agent starting pitchers, Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, and Lance Lynn, fit that equation and would do wonders on Cincinnati's pitching staff.

If the Reds add an offensive piece from the free agent market, it's a nice upgrade, but would do a disservice to the young offensive core that they currently have in Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett, Jose Peraza, Eugenio Suarez, Adam Duvall, and Billy Hamilton. Adding someone like Neil Walker or Mike Moustakas could help the Reds offensively, but it would essentially block Scooter Gennett from playing second base on an everyday basis and would hinder the development of Eugenio Suarez. After all, the Reds ranked 14th in the league last season in offense in terms of runs scored with 753 over 5,484 at bats, 13th with 219 home runs over that span, and second in the league with 38 triples.

When you turn to the pitching side of things, the stats aren't so rosy and nice. Out of the entire league, the Reds pitching staff posted a 5.17 ERA over 1,430.0 IP last season which was 29th ahead of only the Detroit Tigers. Cincinnati's starting rotation posted a 5.55 ERA over 820.0 IP, while their bullpen faired a bit better with a 4.65 ERA over 610.0 IP. Either way, it's obvious that if Cincinnati wants to become relevant again and truly show the industry what direction they're heading in, they will need to add impact pitching especially to their starting rotation.

If the Reds were able to add someone like, Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta, through free agency, that would give them a legitimate front of the rotation start pitcher and someone who could basically eat up innings considering that their rotation only pitched 820 innings last season. Granted, their pitching staff is full of young pitchers, who are still in development mode and can take a step forward in their development this coming season, but regardless the Reds cannot go into the season with the current roster it has. Not only would it be a disservice to the entire Reds fan base, it would also show the industry that even they don't know what direction they're truly heading in. After all, you can only say that you are focused on the future so many times before it becomes redundant and forces your fanbase to no longer support your team.