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Today’s the day! You’ll read plenty of stories today about how so-and-so is in the best shape of their life, and lots of 5 second videos of a bunch of pitchers throwing bullpen sessions. Are photos of baseball players walking out of a building onto the field more your thing? I have good news for you.
It’s officially Pitchers and Catchers Report day, which is the official end of the offseason, and for the first time in a long time, the Reds are coming out of this last offseason sitting pretty. There have already been projections with the Reds finishing the NL Central in first place, which is completely wild given how the last 4 5 6 seasons have went. The Reds had already added some key pieces during last season, picking up Freddy Galvis off of waivers and trading for Trevor Bauer at the July deadline.
They followed that up with a busy winter, signing free agent bats Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama, Nick Castellanos, and shoring up their bullpen with Pedro Strop and a horde of cheap minor league signings. The Reds have been mentioned as offseason winners. It is absolutely wild to read that.
There’s a different feeling about the Reds in 2020. Higher expectations could bring higher disappointments for some, but that’s not how I’m going to look at it.
I’m going to enjoy these Reds, either way. I’m going to enjoy watching a competitive team at GABP. I’m going to enjoy the conversations I have this year, the “how ‘bout those Redlegs”, and seeing people interested in the Reds who weren’t previously. I’m going to enjoy introducing people to this organization and the history behind the exciting team that we’ll see in 2020.
If the Reds don’t meet their lofty expectations, I challenge you to stay above the negativity. These won’t be the same old Reds, so let’s stop comparing them to previous teams. This is a Reds team that is taking their shot, and no matter how it goes, they’re trying. As rah-rah and sad as that sounds, that’s something to celebrate.
The rebuilding Reds era is behind us. Let’s enjoy it.