Why Reds made important decision on manager

Bell, the son of former Reds star Buddy Bell, was hired as manager in 2019. Over the past six seasons, he had a 409-456 record with Cincinnati.

Bell, 52, signed a three-year contract extension with the Reds in July 2023 amid a much-improved season following a disappointing 100-loss campaign in 2022. The Reds, however, failed to live up to expectations. 

Although the Reds played in the postseason during the 2020 COVID-impacted season, Cincinnati missed the playoffs for the 10th consecutive full season in 2024.

With talented, young players such as infielder Elly De La Cruz and a host of good pitchers, the Reds should have contended for the NL Central title. Instead, injury-riddled and inconsistent Cincinnati is 76-81 and fourth in its division. This ultimately led the front office to make the change.

In 2024, second baseman Matt McLain dealt with shoulder and rib injuries, and first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand (fractured right wrist) appeared in only 29 games. Plus, third baseman Noelvi Marte served an 80-game suspension for a PED violation.

The Reds also lost the majority of their rotation (Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft) to injuries at points during the season. 

"David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons," Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "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." 

Bench coach Freddie Benavides will take over as Cincinnati's interim manager. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that current Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, former Cubs manager and Reds catcher David Ross and current ESPN analyst and former Reds first baseman Eduardo Perez could be among the high-profile candidates for the full-time manager job.