The Reds announced that they have parted ways with manager David Bell. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will act as the club’s interim manager for the remainder of the season.
In a statement released to the media, 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.”
Bell’s tenure ends just short of six full seasons as Cincinnati’s manager. Three of Bell’s six seasons saw the Reds finish with a winning record — their 31-29 record in the shortened 2020 season that led to a playoff berth, an 83-win campaign in 2021, and the 82-win season in 2023. That latter season seemed to hint at bigger things ahead for the Reds, given how the team seemingly had an overload of young position-player talent all breaking out at the same time. The organization even awarded Bell for his role in the Reds’ progress, as Bell was signed to a new contract extension in July 2023 that covered the 2024-26 seasons.
However, it perhaps shouldn’t be ignored that the Reds waited to give Bell a new deal until he was only about two months away from the expiration from his previous contract. That might’ve been the first hint that the Reds’ ownership and front office was only willing to give Bell so much leeway in continuing as the club’s skipper, and the disappointing nature of the 2024 season sealed Bell’s fate.
The announcement of Noelvi Marte’s 80-game PED suspension in early March was the first sign of trouble for the Reds, and the bad news continued during Spring Training when Matt McLain had to undergo a shoulder surgery. McLain ended up missing the entire season recovering from that surgery and then a stress reaction in his rib cage suffered during his rehab work. Christian Encarnacion-Strand didn’t play after the first week of May due to a wrist injury that required surgery, thus leading to a lost year for yet another of the Reds’ promising young infielders.
Injuries continued to deplete the roster at other inopportune times, including a near rotation-wide slate of injuries that hit the pitching staff in August. Beyond the injuries, other would-be cornerstones like Spencer Steer or Alexis Diaz provided only average levels of production, and offseason acquisitions like Jeimer Candelario and Frankie Montas also disappointed.
It all added up to an underwhelming season in Cincinnati, and while Bell is hardly the only culprit behind the Reds’ lack of success, the organization will now shake things up in the dugout. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (X link) has already reported that Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is under consideration to be the Reds’ next field general, and Schumaker has past ties to the club as a former Reds player in 2014-15. Schumaker won NL Manager of the Year honors in leading Miami to the playoffs in his first year as skipper in 2023, but the Marlins’ decision to part ways with GM Kim Ng (who hired Schumaker) and then shift into rebuild mode has all but confirmed that Schumaker is leaving South Florida at season’s end.
Bell finishes with a 409-456 record over his time as the Reds’ manager. That lone postseason appearance in 2020 ended in a two-game (and scoreless) sweep in the wild card series, and Cincinnati still hasn’t won a playoff round since the 1995 NLDS. The pandemic’s impact on Bell’s managerial career can’t be understated, as the organizational loss of revenue over the 2020-21 seasons led ownership to suddenly change course after a payroll increase in the 2019-20 offseason, and the Reds started to heavily rebuild following their winning record in 2021.
Viewed through this lens, the Reds have done well to get back to playing competitive baseball so soon after the misery of a 100-loss season in 2022. Krall has done well in reloading the organization with premium prospect talent, and Bell’s role in helping some of this young talent adjust to the majors shouldn’t be overlooked. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Reds take that expected next step in 2025 if the team enjoys better health and the younger players fare better with more experience under their belts, and indeed a new voice in the dugout might be a key piece in helping Cincinnati turn the corner.
Benavides is a longtime member of the Reds organization, dating back to when the club selected him in the second round of the 1987 draft. The first two of Benavides’ four Major League seasons were played in a Reds uniform, and after retirement, he spent close to a decade working in Cincinnati’s farm system before joining the big league coaching staff in 2016. Benavides has been acting in the bench coach role since Bell was initially hired following the 2018 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Well this is wonderful news
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Some Bells can be unrung
cr4
Genuinely the best news I heard as a reds fan since we extended Votto wow it truly sad being a fan of this team
case
The best news a Reds fan could hear is they finally got a GM that thinks starting pitching is important.
HopefulTwinsFan
Wonder if Rocco Bal-dummy is next.
(In all seriousness, I like how Rocco composes himself as a person, but I think Twins fans are ready to bid adieu to him, too)
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
The twins are so close to the playoffs why would they fire Rocco?
troy
The 2008 Brewers would probably wonder the same thing.
HopefulTwinsFan
I read earlier today that the Twins are 12-1 against the White Sox this season. They’re 69-74 against all other teams.
Sure, the Twins might be on the fringe of the playoffs, but they’ve lost 22 of their last 33 games and Rocco continues to mismanage the bullpen (putting in unreliable options in high leverage situations) and platooning guys that don’t need to be.
Us Twins fans have seen enough and think it’s time to see some new blood at the helm of the dugout.
nosake
Baldelli is a keeper
Atloriolesfan
It wasn’t Rocco that let Bowman walk (twice) and signed Cole Irvin. It was Falvey. It wasn’t Rocco that sold Danny Coulombe for pennies. It was Falvey. It wasn’t Rocco that gave the Orioles Yennier Cano as a THROW IN with Cade Povich to get Jorge Lopez. It was Falvey.
Wait, time out. I’m an Orioles fan. I’m sure Rocco demanded all of those moves. Falvey just went along. Rocco should be fired and Falvey should get an extension. The Twins need him on the other end of the line when Mike Elias calls.
kvick11
As a Twins fan, I would love for this to become a reality. Falvey can go as well. Oh, and the Pohlads. Ugh. Just clean house already.
CO Guardening
Twins are 42-60 against >.500. At some point it’s either the roster(likely), or the manager (probably).
Benjamin101677
Wonder what manager is next to be fired
troy
Toronto, probably. Rockies almost certainly. I don’t see many other obvious situations—we all know Skip Schumacher is going to opt out, so he doesn’t count.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Rockies wouldn’t fire bud black they would make him retire
troy
Imagine if Bud Black ever managed a good team. They’d probably be perennial World Series contenders.
As is, his career record shows he turns bad teams into mediocre ones and mediocre ones into 90 win wild card contenders.
pjmcnu
Rockies won’t fire Bud Black because when ownership does nothing to improve the team, year after year, he says nothing. If you’re an ownership happy to make money & lose, a manager who STFU is worth his weight in gold.
tbone0816
One can hope Oli Marmol
troy
I doubt Marmol is on the hot seat. The front office seems to think he’s doing exactly what they want him to do.
As this implies, the real change ought to start higher up. The Cardinals Way has become stale and increasingly ineffective. Time for fresh ideas.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Marmol should be fired but the cardinals have gone from a top organization to a bad one with this front office
Flags fly forever replacing the manager of the year now look at where the padres are
getrealgone2
I’d like Snitker to be fired, but there is more of a chance of Sparky Anderson rising from the grave to take the Reds job.
troy
What’s wrong with Snitker? It ain’t his fault half of the team is injured and the Mets are somehow good.
getrealgone2
He’s a terrible in game manager and that was before the injuries. Now it’s glaring. Constantly leaves the starter in too long. He continuously “goes with his gut” which is 80% of the time wrong. He refuses to shake anything up. I can pick out at least 8 games this season he has screwed up with his mismanagement. Allowing Elder to pitch to Harper in the NLDs last year should have been a fireable offense.
troy
Ah, so typical knee-jerk reactionary nonsense. Any substantial complaints about Snitker?
troy
I just want a good hitting coach for the Bucs. Please Ben.
pjmcnu
Sorry, not in the budget.
afsooner02
Snitker? Really? His seat is ice cold. This has to be a joke.
getrealgone2
You must not watch Braves games.
afsooner02
Likely more than you. Luckily you’re in the vast minority. His job is safe. Team got crushed by injuries, probably more than any other team this year. The fact they’re even anywhere close to the WC shows he did a pretty dang good job with that roster.
RunDMC
There’s more than just rumblings about Snit being fired. No, it won’t happen b/c of the injuries and a firing wouldn’t be a part of the the Braves Way, but Snit has had more than his fair share of gaffes this season, and the Braves radio are quick to point them out. Some of his bullpen choices have been awful, and though I know that’s a typical gripe about a manager, he likes to go against the data, which doesn’t usually end well. The season was saved by the rotation (mainly, AA’s 2 acquisitions: Sale/Lopez), and thank goodness Schwellenbach stepped up (who had that on their rookie arm breakout on their bingo card)? Regardless of the outcome, I think ’25 is Snit’s last year, when he’ll be 70 y/o.
Not a casual MLB fan
PLEASE let the next manager fired be Derek Shelton!!!
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
I’d give Shelton one more year because he finally has a competitive roster with skenes and jones
TJECK109
No, just no. He’s incompetent
I speak the truth
Please be Derek Shelton.
johnsilver
It won’t be the just (foolishly) extended Alex Cora, but perhaps Boston could throw him in some trade as a garbage type addition on an unsuspecting team, which has swallowed all the hype that has been spouted about him from all the media rubbish printed regarding him over the years??
case
Which GM’s most badly need a scapegoat to cover for their terrible decisions?
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Man I liked David but it was time for him to go
troy
They’ve been stuck in this mid to high 70s wins for half a decade now. I’m surprised they pulled the trigger at this moment.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Don’t even let him finish the season. There’s only 6 games left.
positively_broad_st
My baseball-loving family members in SW Ohio will be happy to hear this. They were not pleased with his last extension…
positively_broad_st
The list for Skip Schumaker contenders lengthens…
troy
What’s so special about Schumaker anyways? The Marlins had a decent first half in 2023, but how much is directly attributable to him, and how much is luck and typical new manager bounce?
Niekro floater
Organization thanked Bell for his time n energy then unceremoniously kicked em out the door w/wk left … that’s donkey kick to the nads. I rmbr his dad, Buddy playing 3rd for Rangers.
AHH-Rox
I also remember his dad managing some losing Rockies teams and getting fired.
Maybe the Reds should see if Clint Hurdle is available.
NickTheDev
How does he have 2 months left to go on expiring the previous deal if the extension covered 2024 and 2025 and 2026? It doesn’t make sense.
toptimrubies
I was wondering about this myself.
AHH-Rox
It’s not very clearly written, but the 2 months is how close he was to his contract expiring before they finally gave him the extension.
YankeesBleacherCreature
He signed the extension in July 2023 for ’24-’26.
BirdieMan
In a results oriented league, losing more than you win over 6 years, gets you fired.
joblo
Well it’s obvious that the Pirates aren’t results oriented.
pjmcnu
Why with 1 week left? Pointless.
buddydeal
Praise Jesus! It’s about time. Now send Kroll packing as well and any other remnant of the Dick Williams clown show and tabula rosa!, clean slate. Go hire proven leadership with a winning resume no matter the cost. Resurrect this once great franchise from the pit of irrelevancy and restore it to all its former glory, forever and ever amen ..
gooddumps
White Sox Hire David Bell
Rsox
He is already used to managing for a penny pinching miser, so he has that going for him, and if you keep the expectations to a minimum you won’t be disappointed
Rsox
Schneider is probably next. Schumaker is just a formality. I wonder if the Red Sox knew that the team would completely peter out in August if they would still give Cora an extension.
FatChance65
Rsox—Cora never should have been extended. He should be shown the door. This is a guy who lets his starters go no more than five innings and burns out the bullpen arms by the All Star Break. He does it every year. He is totally clueless as to how to manage the pitching staff.
HiredGun23
Iy wasn’t long ago (April) that the REDS fans were wanting to trade from their enormous depth of infielders and hoping to bring in every all-star under the sun. That they didn’t have enough playing time for them all. And that the signing of Jeimer Candelario was the icing on the cake. Whoops…
redhaze1
Terry Francona
jcraft21
Fine by me. His teams are always poor at basic execution, never good defensively , make way to many base running mistakes over and over, and that has to be placed on somebody. Shumaker would be just fine with me.
Salad Daze 22-27
Ron Washington
Pads Fans
Reds are one of those cases where its the ones that can’t be fired which are the ones that will have to change for them to compete. As long as Castellini is at the top of that FO pyramid, I truly believe that the results on the field will not change much.
jyosuckas
Don’t get it, it’s not like he had a great contending team to manage. I think he got the most out of what he had.
Niekro floater
Chris Sabo
lowtalker1
They were never going to do well with their constant payroll slashing
wrich
Good riddance !
Non Roster Invitee
Don Mattingly?
Dumpster Divin Theo
He got his Bell rung?