Pittsburgh Pirates: Examining Current State of the NL Central

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds seemed to be the winner of last year’s offseason. They signed all-star caliber players like Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos, along with Japanese star Shogo Akiyama to join a core that already consisted of a handful of talented players. Some of those included Trevor Bauer, Eugenio Suarez, Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Raisel Iglesias.

Cincinnati got off to a slow start, but went 16-9 in September to end 31-29, which was good for second place in the division. But it seems the Reds are going into extreme cost cutting mode this offseason.

They already traded their closer, the aforementioned Iglesias, to the Los Angeles Angels. He’s been far from the only name brought up in trade rumors. Their two aces, Gray and Castillo, have also been speculated as pieces the Reds are willing to move. That’s far from the only questionable moves they’ve made. At the non-tender deadline, they got rid of relief pitcher Archie Bradley, outfielder Brian Goodwin and catcher Curt Casali despite all three being productive in 2020 and relatively low cost.

The Reds got huge contributions from Bauer in 2020. His 1.73 ERA, 2.88 FIP and 0.79 WHIP in 73 innings was one of the driving factors to the team getting to the playoffs. He was so good, he won the National League Cy Young Award. But he’s a free agent and although he personally is open to a reunion with the Reds, as he’s stated in his vlog before, with the team in budget cutting mode, it’s unlikely they’ll be willing to offer a fair contract to the talented right hander.

The big signings of Moustakas, Castellanos and Akayamia all did not turn out well. Both American-born players barely played above replacement level with a 0.7 and 0.5 fWAR. Combined, the two will make $28 millon next season. Akayamia provided good defense in left field and center field, but his 85 wRC+ and .304 wOBA led to an fWAR of just 0.5.

The future outlook for the Reds is brighter than the Cubs though. They currently have four top 100 prospects according to FanGraphs. Catcher Tyler Stephenson looked outstanding in his 20 plate appearance sample size in the majors in 2020. He currently is considered a top 70 prospect. 2017 first-round pick Hunter Green is still a talented arm even after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Jose Garcia and former Pirate first-round pick Nick Lodolo are the Reds’ other top 100 prospects.

Currently, both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline rank them as the 22nd best farm system in baseball. Their ability to bring in new talent through free agency is hindered by their payroll that they’re still trying to cut down while also being weighed down by Joey Votto’s contract. He’s guaranteed $75 million across the next three seasons. It’s possible the Reds rebuild until his contract is up.