Reds GM Nick Krall on the Cincinnati's 3-19 start to 2022 season: 'No excuses'
DENVER – Everything that could go wrong for the Cincinnati Reds in the first three weeks of the season has gone wrong.
The Reds are off to a 3-19 start, the worst record through 22 games in franchise history and the worst by any MLB team since the 2003 Detroit Tigers. They’ve scored the second-fewest runs (67). The pitching staff’s ERA (6.15) is a full run higher than any other team. Their infield defense has converted the fewest number of ground balls into outs. Their run differential (negative-65) is the worst in baseball.
Expectations surrounding the Reds were lowered in the offseason when ownership cut payroll and many of their veteran players were traded, but nobody ever expects to finish April with only three wins. They’ve been bitten by a wave of injuries, a league-high 13 players on the injured list, and some key players are underperforming.
“There are no excuses,” general manager Nick Krall said. “Stuff happens. This is baseball. We just have to figure out how to get better. We have to figure out how to be better on the field, with how we bring in enough depth to combat the injuries we have. We have to examine every part of what we’re doing.”
The Reds have lost 17 of their last 18 games, swept in five of their seven series to begin the season. It’s the first time the Reds have totaled one win in an 18-game stretch since September 1930, according to Bally Sports Ohio.
The only team since 1900 that had a worse start to the season through 22 games was the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, which opened the year with a 0-21 record.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Krall said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that. It’s extremely disappointing. The people that work here, the players, the coaches, the staff, we’re some of the most competitive people that I’ve ever met. We want to win. That’s our goal. It’s not to go out and say, ‘hey, we’re going to field a team.’ We want to win. We’re here because we want to win. We want to figure out what the solutions are to help us move forward to get to that point.”
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With a historically poor start, speculation grows about potential staff changes and whether ownership may look for a scapegoat despite the cost-cutting moves in the offseason.
Krall said he wasn’t thinking about that.
“Our focus and everyone’s focus in this organization needs to be on making the best decision they can at the time,” Krall said. “No matter what it is, no matter what their job is, that’s all we can focus on. We have to continue to focus on making the best decision for this organization, as a whole, every day.”
Injuries have derailed the Reds’ depth. They ended Sunday’s game without catcher Tyler Stephenson; infielders Jonathan India, Jose Barrero, Donovan Solano and Max Schrock; outfielder Jake Fraley; starting pitchers Luis Castillo, Mike Minor, Nick Lodolo and Justin Dunn; and relievers Justin Wilson and Daniel Duarte.
Is there a reason behind the wave of injuries?
“We’ve had soft tissue injuries,” Krall said. “We’ve had concussions. We’ve had impact injuries. We’ve run the gamut. It’s hard to say each one is related to another one. It happens. It’s part of the game.”
There were expected growing pains this season, particularly with the pitching staff. The Reds had nine pitchers on their Opening Day roster with less than a year of service time.
The rotation, before Lodolo went on the IL this week, featured three rookies, a second-year starter and Tyler Mahle. Reiver Sanmartin was sent down to Triple-A after Sunday’s start and he admittedly lost his confidence when trying to attack hitters.
With India and Stephenson sidelined, the Reds have only two hitters batting .250 this season: Brandon Drury and Aramis Garcia. Joey Votto is hitting .122 with one extra-base hit out of the cleanup spot in 74 at-bats.
Could Reds get help off the MLB waiver wire?
The Reds will soon have the No. 1 waiver claim, which is based on reverse order of the standings 30 days after the season begins, but that has its limits on providing more depth.
“I’d rather have the No. 30 waiver claim, than the No. 1 waiver claim,” Krall said. “You can do some things there and you get a better chance to get players off waivers, but players are on waivers for a reason. We can try to play that game, but we want to get to a point where we’re continuing to build this team and waiver claims are supplements, not how we’re trying to get players to fill in as everyday guys.”
Krall said he was “very encouraged” by the direction of the Reds’ farm system. The Reds’ High-A affiliate, the Dayton Dragons, owns the best record in all of minor league baseball at 16-5.
Most of the Reds’ top-rated prospects, however, are in Double-A or below, and likely at least a year away from contributing in the big leagues.
“I’m really excited where that development is going, it just takes time,” Krall said. “It’s hard to say, ‘we’re going to put those guys in and they’re going to be the future.’ They’re not ready yet. I don’t want to put somebody up here who is not ready, especially if they’re not even ready to get to Triple-A yet.”
One of the Reds’ top pitching prospects at Triple-A is right-hander Graham Ashcraft. He has a 1.99 ERA through five starts, though he’s allowed nine unearned runs. He’s struck out 18 and walked 10 across 22 2/3 innings, a lower strikeout rate and higher walk rate than he had in a breakout season at High-A and Double-A last year.
“Graham Ashcraft is in Triple-A and not the big leagues because that’s the best place for him,” Krall said. “He needs to go through the development process and continue to get better there. He’s had a couple of really good games. He’s had a couple of games where he has been so-so.
“We need to make sure we’re keeping those guys at the level that they belong for their development and not trying to rush them here to be injury replacements just because they are a prospect and we put them in. That’s not a good thing. We cannot do that. We have to make sure we’re making the best decisions every day for the players and this organization for the long term.”
The Reds, after parting with many of their popular players in the offseason, want to build from within their farm system. Sustainability was the focus of their moves and now they’re off to the franchise’s worst-ever start.
It’s the second time in the last five seasons the Reds opened the year with a 3-18 record, falling out of playoff contention in April. Last time, the Reds reacted by changing their coaching staff, trading several top prospects and spending big in free agency. Mike Moustakas is the only free-agent signee who remains in the organization.
The Reds have some core pieces in place. India, Stephenson, Barrero, Lodolo, Nick Senzel, Hunter Greene, Tony Santillan and Vladimir Gutierrez are at the center of it and all younger than 27 years old. But the 3-19 start underscores how far they've fallen after an 83-win season.
“We have some good players here,” Krall said. “We just have to continue to grind, put things together and move forward.”