90 million to spend to get to league average

[*bengalfan74*]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/cincinnati-reds-have-financial-means-to-be-aggressive-in-free-agency-this-offseason/ar-AA1snnHk?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=ASTS&cvid=9b5051b40cf3452c8af69bcb0f0e0965&ei=14

Plenty of room to pick up some pieces

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

Going by the Reds normal playbook they'll spend $45m instead, and it'll be on 6 mediocre/bad players rather than 2 good ones.

[*ochocincos*]

Reds aren't getting to $167 mill payroll.
Most years they hover around $100-125 mill.
MAYBE I could see a stretch up to $140 mill, but I would highly doubt any higher than that.

They only really have one star on the team that would result in a ton of merchandise income (EDLC), and they didn't get huge attendance numbers this year to get a bunch of extra income that way. They averaged 25k per game. The seating capacity for GABP is 42k.
Reds are going to need to land a lucrative new TV deal to get a big influx of $$ to spend a crazy high amount on payroll for 2025.

What I would like to just see them do:
- 1 new SP. I think the guys they have can cover 4 of the spots well.
- 2 proven, reliable RPs who can be setup men or the actual closer. Reds have plenty of dudes who could be long relievers.
- 1 proven corner IF bat
- 1 corner OF bat, or a proven DH

Rece Hinds is someone I would look to have on the roster in place of Will Benson.
He might blossom into that power corner OF bat.

For IF, EDLC and McLain are locks. Candelario is likely to make it too even though I don't particularly like his hitting. He needs to get back to 250+ BA/800+ OPS.
Espinal and India deserve to be on the roster as depth.
They could move Steer back to IF if they find a LF they like. I personally think Steer was better in IF rather than LF.
We can't count on Marte or CES to return to their 2023 form yet.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

https://www.redlegnation.com/2024/10/25/the-cincinnati-reds-lead-the-way-in-mlb-sponsorship-deals/

The poor poor Reds. Can't afford to spend.  

[*bengalfan74*]

(10-26-2024, 01:53 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: https://www.redlegnation.com/2024/10/25/the-cincinnati-reds-lead-the-way-in-mlb-sponsorship-deals/

The poor poor Reds. Can't afford to spend.  

Just gut wrenching

[*ochocincos*]

(10-26-2024, 01:53 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: https://www.redlegnation.com/2024/10/25/the-cincinnati-reds-lead-the-way-in-mlb-sponsorship-deals/

The poor poor Reds. Can't afford to spend.  

Reds also were 21st in stadium attendance this past season at just 24,990/game.
In seasons where they haven't been anywhere close to competitive, the attendance dropped below 20k/game.
2015 was the last season they averaged right about 30k/game or higher (29,870).

There's no secret that the Reds will get a big boost to attendance if they are actually competitive.
Fans want to attend to see winners.
A decrease in 5-10k attendance per game at 81 games a year multiplied by price of each of those tickets can really put a dent in the available cash in subsequent seasons if continually losing year after year.

The reality is though the Reds will not get their attendance back to 30-35k/game unless they give the fans a reason to be excited.
The only way to do that is to win, but they'll still probably have some skepticism going into the season regardless unless they add some talent in FA/trades that get the fans excited to attend in April/May.