Reds’ budget is first priority for GM
Before the Cincinnati Reds front office makes decisions on the team's upcoming team options and before they approach Nick Castellanos' opportunity to enter free agency, general manager Nick Krall said the Reds have some accounting to do.
Krall said the organization's first step this offseason will be finalizing the 2022 budget, which will be based on the team's revenue.
“How we use our money at the end of the day, that's going to depend on where we are from a budget standpoint,” Krall said. “That's going to be first and foremost, and over the next couple weeks, we'll have that set. Then we can go forward.”
Krall said he didn't have any set expectations for how much the budget could change, but the Reds payroll in 2022 could decide the competitiveness of next year's team.
The Reds have a $10 million option on starting pitcher Wade Miley and a $7.5 million option on catcher Tucker Barnhart. Michael Lorenzen and Mychal Givens are free agents out of the bullpen. Castellanos has an opt-out clause in his contract and could be one of the best hitters in free agency this offseason.
“We have to look at all positions and how does everyone fit best,” Krall said. “Is there a DH or not? What the budget constraints are? We have to answer those questions first before we go into the offseason and figure out how we're going to address things."
This season, the Reds had a payroll near league average at $130 million.
The team had a winning record in 2021, but a slow start and a poor finish kept Cincinnati out of the playoffs.
“We've had some ups and downs, it's not what we set out to do,” Krall said. “It didn't end like we wanted to. It's definitely disappointing. There are some moral victories out of this, but at the same time, it's not what we want to do. We're not looking to finish just out of the playoffs, we're looking to get in the playoffs and go deep. That's the goal.”