Terry Francona didn’t try to dress up the Reds’ offseason priorities on Wednesday. The message was the same one he delivered at season’s end, only with a little more clarity: Cincinnati has to get tougher in the right ways, and that starts with the kind of at-bats and pitching efficiency that keep games from slipping away early.
Speaking on the offseason premiere of the “Reds Hot Stove League” on the Reds Radio Network, Francona said his comment about needing to be tougher was never meant as a shot at the players’ character.
“Obviously, one word probably doesn’t sum up the whole season. I don’t think our guys aren’t tough.
I probably should have explained that a little better. I meant tougher at-bats, fighting with two strikes, things like that.
Just scrapping and taking anything they’ll give us. It seemed like there were a lot of games [where] you’d look up in the fifth inning and we had 10 strikeouts.
Then you’d keep playing and make a game of it, but we put ourselves behind the eight ball. We’ve got to do better.”
That swing-and-miss issue is part of a bigger conversation about how the Reds want to play going forward. Francona pointed to the Brewers as a model of sorts after watching them in the World Series, but he also made it clear that style has to match personnel.
“It’s easy to look at the Brewers because of the way they play. But I also think you have to take who you have and try to play to their strengths.
We had [Eugenio] Suárez. We had Nate Lowe.
Those guys aren’t going to be high-contact, stolen-base guys. We’ve got to see who we have.
But I agree with what your premise is.
“Milwaukee, they just grind you into the ground. They hit the ball the other way.
They go first to third. Their defense is just phenomenal.
It’s a really good way to play. But you’ve got to have the players to do it.”
A big piece of Cincinnati’s offseason work is already in place with the hiring of pitching coach Joe Torres, and Francona sounded convinced the move can matter quickly. He said Torres’ five years alongside Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis shaped him in a major way.
“More important than being hired by me is that he spent the last five years sitting next to [Guardians pitching coach] Carl Willis. You’ve been around me to know how much regard I hold Carl.
Joe’s been with him for five years now, and he’s a younger version of Carl. I just think he’s going to make a big difference.
“We all know how Cleveland has done with their pitching, throughout the organization. He’s going to bring some new ideas.
He understands about us needing to throw strikes. He’s trying to hit the ground running.”
Francona also described what stood out when the Reds interviewed Torres, saying the coach’s presence and growth came through immediately.
“What really impressed me was the growth I felt as we were interviewing him, listening to the comfort level of him talking about how he would like to run things. You could really see the growth.
And that really pleased me because I liked him already. So, much like Carl, he’s a calming influence.
He has a delivery. He understands analytics.
He understands using his eyes, and he understands using a pitching team. I just think he’s going to be phenomenal.”
The biggest on-field problem, though, remains the same one that haunted the staff last season: too many walks and too many deep counts. Francona said a coach can help, but he can’t solve it alone.
“It can’t just be that he’s going to flip a switch and all of a sudden, guys are going to throw strikes. It’s on us as an organization to acquire guys that are able to throw strikes. But then saying that, [with] the guys we have, we have to do better.
“We have got to work ahead. There were so many innings last year where, even if we got through the inning, you looked up and there were a bunch of 3-2 counts.
The pitchers had 27-28 pitches. That’s not going to work over the course of the game or the season.
So we’ve got to be more economical.”
Francona also addressed the status of a reliever he clearly values, saying he reached out directly and isn’t ready to close the door on a return.
“I texted him last night and he was at dinner. I said, ‘Do I need to come over there and kick your [butt]?‘
The reason I said that is I love the guy. He’s such a phenomenal teammate.
He bailed us out. When we made him the closer, it allows you to work from back to front, when you know there’s an end in sight.
I’m not giving up on him coming back. He has the right to test the market.
But I don’t think it’s any secret how much I enjoyed him and how much I respect him and how much I love him.”
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