The Reds are staring at a familiar offseason dilemma, and Nick Krall’s latest comments only sharpened it: Tyler Stephenson’s return is anything but guaranteed.
Speaking with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, the Reds’ president of baseball operations made it clear the club is still weighing whether Stephenson is the best place to put its money.
"I think we need to take a step back and figure out what it’s going to take," Krall said. "How does it help us move forward?
And do we need to use that money to improve something else? I think we have a lot of questions that need to be answered over the next month as we approach free agency.
But he’s a great guy and we’d love to have him back.”
That’s the kind of answer that keeps the door open without actually walking through it. The Reds have more than one area to address, and they have to decide whether committing to one catcher makes sense when other spots need attention, too.
The problem is what comes next if Stephenson is gone.
Right now, the alternatives behind the plate are Jose Trevino and Will Banfield, and neither brings much offense to the table. If Cincinnati heads into next season with that duo handling catcher duties, it would be giving itself another lineup spot where runs could be hard to find.
That’s why Krall’s talk about redirecting money elsewhere has to be measured against what the Reds would be giving up at catcher. Yes, improving another part of the roster would matter. But so would replacing Stephenson’s bat, or at least avoiding a major drop-off.
It also raises a tougher question about the club’s thinking at the trade deadline. If the Reds weren’t sure they could keep Stephenson, that would have been the moment to see what kind of return was available in a deal.
Instead, they held onto him. Now they’re heading toward free agency with the real possibility of losing him for nothing.
That doesn’t mean Cincinnati should pay whatever it takes to keep him. A decision made in July shouldn’t force the front office into a contract it doesn’t want in the fall. Still, if Stephenson leaves and the Reds open next season with a thinner catching setup, it’s fair to wonder what the plan was all along.
Krall said the Reds would love to have Stephenson back. The harder part is figuring out how to actually make that happen.
And if they don’t, they’ll need a convincing answer for how they plan to get better anyway. Counting on Trevino and Banfield would be a tough sell.
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But the bigger decision may come at catcher, where Tyler Stephenson is headed for free agency and the Reds have to decide whether keeping him fits their spending plan or whether that money is better pushed toward another need. With pitching, offense and catching all on the list of offseason concerns, the club's next moves will say a lot about whether it is trying to patch holes or take a more decisive step forward. [Read more 🡒]