The Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell on September 22, 2024 with 5 games left in the season, 1 year and 2 months after signing a 3 year extension with the team.

Nick Krall was quoted “We do not take this decision lightly….David Bell is one of the nicest, most caring and genuine individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my 25 years in baseball.” Later, Krall would say “We’re looking for somebody who can lead this clubhouse and develop the young players in this clubhouse” when asked about if prior managerial experience was necessary for the new opening.

The Reds had an odd season in 2024. They had a record of 15-28 in 1 run ball games, but had a +5 run differential. The Reds had a record of 33-20 in the first game of a series, but finished the season 77-85. There appeared to be a lack of accountability by David Bell. There seemed to be a “well get ‘em next time” mentality. David Bell was well liked by a lot of people in the game of baseball, he wasn’t a terrible manager, the Cincinnati Reds in 2025 and in the future need a new voice, a new leader. Who could that be? Here is a list of managers I would like to see hired as the new manager for the Cincinnati Reds.

Terry Francona:

Terry Francona in my opinion would be the home run hire. Would he be interested in the job if offered? That’s tricky. Tito has had some health issues in recent years, that’s why he stepped away in the first place from a good gig in Cleveland. Francona has a record of 1950-1672 in 23 years of managing baseball. Francona has had only 2 losing seasons since the year 2000 and was the manager for 2 World Series championships for a Boston Red Sox club that had not won a World Series in 86 years. If I was in the Reds front office, I would do everything in my power to convince the 3 time Manager of the Year winner to come back to baseball and Cincinnati.

Skip Schumaker:

Skip Schumaker is my top pick if Terry Francona isn’t available. Skip was in an odd spot in Miami. In 2023, the Marlins were not expected to compete, they had good talent in Jazz Chisholm and Luis Arraez, but the NL East was to be ran by the Phillies and Mets. In 2024, the Marlins sold off everything and made it nearly impossible for the team to be successful. Luis Arraez was traded to San Diego early in the season, Jazz was traded to the Yankees, and Bryan De La Cruz was traded to Pittsburgh just to name a few as well as most of their major league roster not being MLB ready. Skip is one of the hotter names available and I think he fits in with this young Reds roster and will bring accountability.

David Ross:

David Ross is lower on my list of choices as manager, but is being reported as one of the leading candidates for the job. Ross managed 4 seasons for the Chicago Cubs and had a record of 262-284. A small sample size, but Chicago has a lot more resources than Cincinnati has at their disposal. Ross. As a player, Ross had some of his best years as a player in Cincinnati, but as a manager I don’t see him being much of an upgrade over David Bell.

Buck Showalter:

This is a long shot, but Buck is a dark horse candidate. Buck last managed the New York Mets for 2 seasons and won the club won 101 games in his first season, a 26 win improvement from the season prior under Luis Rojas. It was their first winning season since 2019. In Baltimore, Showalter managed the Orioles to 7 winning seasons out of 9 in a crowded AL East. A 4 time manager of the year winner, Buck Showalter has a track record of holding players accountable.

Whatever the Reds do, the answer is obvious. There needs to be more accountability. The current roster has a ton of potential. Elly De La Cruz has MVP potential, Hunter Greene has CY Young potential. All the young pieces around these 2 players could lead to a significant playoff run if the right man is steering the ship.

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