Reds Stumble Out of Gate in 2025

Not the start we were hoping for...

We were really hoping that we wouldn't have to bust this picture out anymore.

There is no denying the ugly start to this season for the Redlegs. The problems have seemed to compound since Opening Day's painful loss.

The Reds are 3-7 and have dropped each of their first three series. The team made some unfortunate history last week, losing three straight games 1-0. They are sharing last place with the Pirates.

Health has been a factor. Austin Hays is on the IL with a calf strain. Matt McLain has missed a few games with a hamstring concern. Spencer Steer has a mysterious shoulder issue that has lingered since last season. Numerous players and coaches were sidelined over the weekend due to an illness. This has all quickly exposed the lack of depth on the roster, especially in the outfield.

However, health is not the reason these games are being lost. The overall weakness of the outfield is a major concern. Jake Fraley looks overmatched at the plate and let a ball past him that rolled to the wall. TJ Friedl forgot how many outs there were and got doubled up on a routine fly pop. Gavin Lux looks like a second baseman playing left field (go figure). Jacob Hurtubise ran right into an easy tag when he did not have to run. Even with a healthy Hays, the outfield still projects among the league's weakest. Even is Steer becomes 100% healthy, he is not a natural outfielder either.

The infield is not without concern either. Jeimer Candelario looks like the second coming of Mike Moustakas, which clogs things up drastically due to Steer's DH only constraint. He essentially has to play third base. This roster is not playoff worthy, let alone World Series worthy. it is still unfathomable how frugal the Reds were in the offseason when it comes to addressing the outfield.

We expect and trust Terry Francona to right the ship on the baserunning, defense, and approach issues. However, we vastly overestimated how this team would start off in 2025. While it is true that he can only do so much with this weak of a roster, to be fair, we were highly critical of David Bell for many of the same characteristics and mistakes we are seeing so far on this team. 10 games is a small sample size, but Francona has his work cut out to implement positive change. 4 of the Reds 7 losses have been by 1 run: a trend that will have to change if this team wants to compete.

It may seem too early to sound the alarm, but the division and wild card races are sure to come down to a matter of a few games or less. Every game matters, especially divisional games. Let's hope that Tito and crew can right the ship quickly and that the front office goes and gets an outfielder.