The Reds are headed toward another frustrating finish, and the questions around Nick Krall are getting louder by the day. But Ken Rosenthal thinks the bigger problem in Cincinnati sits higher up the ladder.
Speaking on Foul Territory, Rosenthal said the Reds’ issues trace back to ownership more than anything else. He did not let Krall off the hook, especially for the club’s quiet approach at the trade deadline, but he also wondered how much control the general manager really has.
"I would say it rests with the Reds more on ownership than anything else," Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. Clearly, this is a team that has missed the playoffs 31 of the last 31 years.
Now you can certainly find fault with Nick Krall, particularly at the deadline when they did nothing and they should have done some things. I don't know how much freedom he had to make those decisions.
I don't know how much freedom he's had to make other decisions."
Rosenthal also pointed directly at Bob Castellini, saying the Reds have not been run like a stable winner and have failed to become the kind of consistently successful club that can resemble the Brewers, the Tampa Bay Rays or the Cleveland Guardians.
"Right now, they're being run by a guy, Bob Castellini, who has not had success, who has not shown his franchise can be like the Brewers, like the Tampa Bay Rays, like the Cleveland Guardians. They've not been a successful team.
They've spent money at times..." If you're asking me if Nick Krall should be back, I'd say that I don't think he's the problem."
That said, ownership isn’t the only part of this story. The front office still has to make the most of whatever it gets, and Cincinnati has not done that often enough.
The article raises the possibility that the Castellinis may have influenced the Reds’ decision not to sell at the trade deadline, which would fit a pattern of preferring a middling season over a harder reset. But it also points out that ownership is not the one making every roster move. Signings like Jeimer Candelario and Mike Moustakas, along with the trade for Ke'Bryan Hayes, are front office decisions, and those calls have not added up to a winner.
Cincinnati’s ownership has also spent more on the roster than the Brewers, Rays and Guardians, which only sharpens the comparison. Those teams have done more with less. The Reds, meanwhile, have not built enough around the resources they’ve had.
So while the Castellinis are far from blameless, Krall does not get a free pass either. He has had chances to shape the roster, and the results have not been good enough.
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