Price Reduced

To say the Reds’ season has been bleak would be putting it lightly. Cincinnati’s nightmare start has nothing on Simon and Garfunkel. They’ve won just three of their 18 games so far, giving them the worst record in MLB. Cincinnati’s run differential (-46) is only second-worst in the league, but that’s mostly because the Marlins got whooped by the Brewers on Thursday while the Reds had the day off. Speaking of days off, the Reds’ offense has taken the whole WEEK off. Seriously—the Reds haven’t scored a run since Monday after being shut out in back-to-back games by the Brewers. Wednesday’s defeat was their fifth shutout loss of the season and it’s only April.

Sure, Charlie Brown’s team was bad but at least they had Snoopy. What do the Reds have going for them right now? Not a whole lot. Homer Bailey, who looks like a superhero but doesn’t pitch like one, has been a shell of his pre-Tommy John self with three losses in the early going, though it’s come with a reasonable 3.42 ERA. The Reds have roughly a million outfielders on their roster, none of whom can hit including Billy Hamilton, who runs like the wind but can barely hit his weight (he weighs 160 pounds). Luis Castillo, one of the few bright spots from last year, has fallen victim to the dreaded sophomore slump. Raisel Iglesias gets a save opportunity about as often as the Olympics. Greg Oden—I mean Anthony DeSclafani—hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016. Zack Cozart left to sign with the Angels this offseason and took his donkey with him. Even old reliable Joey Votto doesn’t have it this year. Last year’s MVP runner-up in the National League has one extra-base hit in 66 at-bats this season.

When a team does this badly, someone has to be held responsible. On Thursday, the Reds cleaned house by dumping manager Bryan Price along with pitching coach Mack Jenkins. Thursday’s dismissal concluded Price’s four-year run in Cincinnati, which ended with three straight last-place finishes in the NL Central. Aside from losing all the time, Price was probably most known for his profane rant in 2015 which included the use of not one, not two but 77 F-bombs. If this were A Christmas Story, he’d be eating a bar of soap right now. The Reds have had their fair share of bad luck with injuries to Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler, but Price wasn’t getting the job done.

With Price gone, the Reds will turn to Jim Riggleman—yes, he’s still around—as their interim manager. The last team to fire their manager in April was the Tigers in 2002. They finished with a 55-106 record that year. Good luck to you, Jim.



I hate to be the glass-half empty guy, but this probably won’t end well. The time for silver linings has come and gone. It’s all bad. Well maybe not all bad. The Reds do have a few interesting prospects on the way. In fact, three of them are ranked in MLB.com’s top 50 including prized infielder Nick Senzel, a 22-year-old who took the minors by storm last season (.321 AVG in 455 at-bats). Senzel could be a game-changer for the Reds’ offense when he arrives in the majors, but even he can’t solve their pitching woes. So far Cincinnati has yielded a league-high 28 long balls while posting MLB’s second-worst ERA (5.42). That might be passable if you have a murderer’s row lineup that can put up runs in a hurry, but if Tucker Barnhart is leading your team in batting average (.277!), the “murderer’s row” label does not apply to you.

The Cubs and Astros have taught us that bottoming out isn’t the worst thing a struggling franchise can do. Both teams floundered for a number of years but were able to turn their luck around by stockpiling prospects. If the Reds want to be successful, they’ll have to follow the same blueprint. Building through the draft is important but if the Reds want to accelerate their turnaround, they should consider moving assets like Hamilton and Iglesias. Neither of those players are costing the Reds very much, which is exactly what makes them attractive to other teams.

Though maybe not as pronounced as the Reds’ early struggles, the Orioles are going through a similarly trying stretch. They’ve lost 14 of 19 games to begin the year and have little chance of competing in what should be a two-horse race between the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East. The Orioles just put the finishing touches on a disastrous road trip, losing all six games including three straight to the Tigers, who aren’t anyone’s idea of a world beater.

Baltimore’s rebuild is long overdue. For years the Orioles have tried to stay relevant, probably as a way of enticing superstar Manny Machado to stay instead of bolting at the end of his rookie deal, but it seems like reality is finally setting in for all parties. Machado knows his future isn’t in Baltimore and the Orioles can see the writing on the wall for Chris Davis and Adam Jones, who are both in steep decline. Mark Trumbo, who has yet to play a game this year, falls under the same umbrella. Zach Britton, an All-Star closer and Cy Young contender as recently as two years ago, has battled a seemingly endless string of injuries while free agent signing Alex Cobb has limped to a 15.43 ERA through two starts. Even Jonathan Schoop, who was arguably the team MVP last season with 32 homers and 105 RBI, has yet to come out of hibernation (.230 AVG in 61 at-bats).

The solution is staring Baltimore square in the face. The Orioles would surely get a king’s ransom for Machado, who could help a contending team in the same way that Justin Verlander did last year in Houston’s run to the World Series. He should be a goner come July 31 along with Britton and perhaps even Schoop if the O’s really want to blow this thing up. Trading away a franchise cornerstone like Machado will do little to quell the team’s attendance problem, but the prospect haul will at least give the Orioles a chance to start over. More importantly, Baltimore can’t risk losing Machado for nothing when he inevitably skips town next winter.

I get that it’s April 20 and anything can happen between now and October. In fact, the Rangers have gone on a mini hot streak—I assume just to spite me—since I doubted them last week. But the reality is, the Reds and Orioles simply aren’t built for 2018. Change will come soon enough but until then … hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again …

AL Quick Hits: Shohei Ohtani exited Tuesday’s start with a blister but returned to action on Thursday, serving as the Angels’ DH against Boston. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as the Red Sox extended their winning streak to seven … Xander Bogaerts went through agility drills on Thursday and seems to be making progress as he recovers from a broken bone in his left ankle. He’s a long shot to return during the Red Sox’s current nine-game road trip, though he should be back for Boston’s next homestand, which begins on April 27 … The Yankees activated CC Sabathia from the disabled list on Thursday. He scattered four hits and two runs (both unearned) over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Toronto. Sabathia needed about two weeks to recover from a strained hip … Blue Jays manager John Gibbons confirmed Kendrys Morales (hamstring) will be activated from the disabled list on Friday. The Jays will have a difficult roster decision to make with Randal Grichuk out of minor league options and Teoscar Hernandez off to a strong start (.375 AVG in 24 at-bats) … Zach Britton is slated to throw off a half-mound on Friday. The All-Star closer is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles he suffered in January … Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Ken Giles hasn’t been available the past few days due to a back injury. The closer wasn’t needed Thursday as Houston rolled to a 9-2 win over Seattle … Ryon Healy is set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas. He sprained his ankle in a weight room mishap earlier this month … The Mariners didn’t win on Thursday but they did pull off an interesting triple play thanks to a brain camp by Astros DH Evan Gattis. You can see it for yourself here.

NL Quick Hits: Freddie Freeman left Wednesday’s game after taking a pitch off his left wrist but returned for Thursday’s series opener against the Mets. He went for 2-for-3 with a pair of singles … Matt Harvey labored through another tough outing on Thursday, yielding eight hits and six runs in six innings of work as the Mets fell 12-4 to Atlanta. With Jason Vargas (broken hand) nearing a return, manager Mickey Callaway wouldn’t commit to Harvey making another start … Chris Owings exited Thursday’s game with a head contusion following a collision with teammate A.J. Pollock. Jarrod Dyson replaced Owings in right field as Arizona held on for a 3-1 win over San Francisco … Hunter Pence sat out Thursday’s game against the D’Backs with a sore right thumb. He underwent an MRI and may be headed to the disabled list. That decision could come as soon as Friday with Jeff Samardzija set to return from a strained pectoral muscle … Ryan Braun didn’t start Thursday’s game due to a nagging calf injury but appeared as a pinch-hitter and smacked a three-run homer off Marlins right-hander Junichi Tazawa as Milwaukee cruised to a 12-3 victory. That pushed Braun’s career RBI total to 1,000 … The Padres made room on the roster for Kirby Yates, who is back from an ankle injury, by optioning right-hander Luis Perdomo to Triple-A El Paso. Perdomo has fared miserably in his four starts (8.36 ERA) this year and just finished serving a five-game suspension for inciting a brawl with Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. This will be Perdomo’s first trip to the minors since 2015 when he was still in the Cardinals’ organization … The Cards called up Tyler O’Neill (MLB.com’s No. 94 prospect) for his major league debut on Thursday. He went 0-for-1 in an 8-5 loss to the Cubs … Tommy Pham didn’t start Thursday’s game against the Cubs after injuring his groin a day earlier, though he did make a pinch-hitting appearance in the seventh inning. He should be back in the St. Louis lineup on Friday … Jake Arrieta improved to 2-0 with Thursday’s win over the Pirates. The right-hander allowed just one hit over seven shutout frames while setting a season-high with 10 punch-outs … Lewis Brinson connected on his first two homers of the year in Thursday’s loss to the Brewers, who traded him this offseason in a deal that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. Brinson has mostly struggled this year, batting .156 with 21 strikeouts in only 64 at-bats.