The Cincinnati Reds announced that David Bell has been fired, effective immediately. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will serve as interim manager for the remaining five games in the 2024 season.

President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said that, “David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons. We felt a change was needed to move the Major League team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected and we need to begin focusing on 2025.”

A few things:

• “We have not achieved the success we expected…”
  • What makes you look at this roster and think, “Yup, this is the squad that brings home the trophy”?
• “We need to begin focusing on 2025.”
  • Ahh, good call. Way to get a head start, a couple nights before game number 158.

Krall plans to meet with media on Monday morning at Great American Ball Park and I hope they let him have it. They need to be asking the tough questions and not just lob him fast balls.

Listen, the problem has never been David Bell. No one can achieve at that job with this current ownership and front office makeup. Bell managed the Reds for six season and in three of those seasons, the team had a winning record. They had one playoff appearance which was the Covid-shortened season. He finishes his tenure in Cincinnati with a 409-456 record.

As a diehard fan of the Cincinnati Reds, I want to be excited and hopeful for whoever gets the job next. Again, it’s just hard for me to get super amped when I know the person taking over isn’t going to have much to work with.

So what’s next?

Who’s next?

I’ll give you five names that I think are realistic candidates and people that I’d like to see be manager of the Reds.

1.) David Ross – I have said SEVERAL times on the podcast that I am a massive fan of former catchers being managers. They are the only player facing one direction while every other player faces the opposite — they’ve always seen the game differently. As a catcher, they are forced to manage the game already. Ross is a former Red and extremely likable. Despite having a losing record after four seasons at the helm, the Chicago Cubs blew me away firing Ross and hiring Craig Counsell. It truly blew me away that Ross was not picked up by another MLB team looking for a manager ahead of the 2024 season. Ross turned down a contract to join Aaron Boone’s staff on the Yankees because he wants to manage. David Ross would be a guy that I’d love to see back in a Cincinnati uniform.

2.) Gabe Kapler – Ladies, please, keep your clothes on until I finish this blog. Kapler has proved that he can lead his teams to victory, going 456-411 across six seasons managing the Phillies and Giants. The 2021 NL Manager of the Year is currently serving as the Miami Marlins Assistant General Manager. Would Kapler consider returning to the dugout? Who knows, but I think he’d be a good replacement for David Bell.

3.) AJ Pierzynski – Another former catcher, I think Pierzynski would be an excellent manager. He knows the game well and had a respectable career in the game. Look at the success of Stephen Vogt in Cleveland this season. Again, the team has a front office problem and that trumps all problems. Could Pierzynski succeed as a manager? I’d be willing to take a chance and see how his knowledge inspires a youthful roster.

4.) Rodney Linares – Linares is 46 years old and currently serves as the Bench Coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. He has served within organizations ever since beginning at the age of 21 with the Houston Astros. He won two Manager of the Year awards as a minor league manager in the Houston system. He made the jump to the Rays in 2019. He’s been a part of two successful organizations and was a major catalyst in player development for several Houston main-stays (Altuve, Bregman, Springer, etc.). I think Linares is a major managerial candidate and several teams will be calling him this offseason.

5.) Corky Miller – Do I really need to say much about the Corkster? Again, a former catcher. He’s been a Reds lifer. After being a fan-favorite for the team, Miller has stayed close with the organization through the years. He’s served on coaching staffs through the minor league system, including Dayton and Louisville. He’s also been a part of the Reds Winter Caravan stops for fans. I think fans would love Corky as manager, but again, would he be given the chance to succeed?

At the end of the day, who the hell knows? I could see this front office finding a yes man to serve as manager, but if you want fans to show some sort of interest or belief that the FO is trying, they have to get this hire right because where else will we go?

And no, it’s not going to be Joey Votto.

Go Reds!