Can The Reds Crack The Postseason Two Years In A Row?

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We have reached the final playoff team in baseball from last year. I will be honest that I had no idea that the Reds would be good last year, and I still am a bit surprised it all worked out for them. However, their team does have a lot of good, young talent that can lead them to the playoffs again. That is if they decide to keep the team intact. Let’s take a look at how the Reds can get back into October games this year. 

Last year recap:

The Reds took the final Wild Card spot, beating out the Mets. They were just 50-47 at the All-Star break last year. They didn’t improve all that much in the second half of the season, considering they ended the year with an 83-79 record. It was a quick postseason for them as they ended up playing the Dodgers and getting rocked in both games. If you look at this optimistically, this gave the Reds team, especially the young guys, a taste of the postseason. Pessimistically, it just means the Reds aren’t fully ready to compete.

Offseason moves: 

The Reds didn’t have a very busy offseason, which is a bit disappointing considering the progress they made last year. They were tied to Kyle Schwarber, but it seemed like that was always a bit of a long shot as he ended up back with Philadelphia. So, they "settled" for Eugenio Suarez. The rest of the additions are really to the pitching staff. They did lose Nick Martinez, Austin Hays, Gavin Lux, and Zack Littell, all of whom are guys that could stabilize them. 

Roster: 

The roster probably starts and stops with the rotation. Hunter Greene is one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball. However, like all smaller franchises, there is already talk of trading Greene away from the team. Andrew Abbott is another good arm for the team, and then they have a strong combination of options from there, including Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder, and Chase Burns. The bullpen was kind of rebuilt, but shouldn’t be anything special or terrible. I’m interested to see how the offense looks this season. Elly De La Cruz is one of the more exciting players in the sport, but do they get enough from guys like Ke’Bryan Hayes, TJ Friedl, or Noelvi Marte? 

Betting outlook:

There are a lot of reasons to question the Reds. I do think their floor is fairly high because their rotation is good. However, if this team struggles, expect them to back it in for the year and trade away players. Suarez was signed to a one-year deal, so he is a prime example, especially because he should get good numbers playing half of his games at Great American Ballpark. The books tend to agree with this team being a question mark, as they list them at 81.5. I think they are likely to be under 81.5 so I’d lean to the under, but there really isn’t much room to operate. I certainly prefer the under, though.

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