FLORENCE – Market size is not the only factor in Cincinnati Reds CEO Bob Castellini’s baseball decisions. There’s a fan factor, too, says Assistant General Manager Dick Williams.
“Bob wants so badly to make everyone proud of the Reds,” Williams said. “That’s why he’s made some of the decisions he has made.
“We rank in the middle of the league in attendance. In spending as a percentage of revenue, we are tops in the league.”
Williams explained the business side of professional baseball at the Florence Rotary Club on Monday, February 2. Roughly $125 million of the Reds $175 million goes into player salaries, he said.
From a business perspective, that means developing players “to get as much as we can (from their performance) before they get to free agency,” Williams explained. For example, the Reds signed promising young catcher Devin Mesoraco to a four-year contract worth $28 million during the off-season.
On the other hand, the Reds must go to arbitration hearings with two other young players, ace reliever Aroldis Chapman and infielder Todd Frazier, because they could not come to agreement on contracts prior to February.
“It can be a bit of a contentious process,” Williams said. “No one wants to go through that process, but it’s necessary to keep salaries in line.”
In December the Reds traded starting pitchers Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon, both of whom could become free agents after next seasons. The trade left the Reds short on depth “but we have a lot of good arms we feel good about,” Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of good young players but a few ifs … all could be a year away.”
One of the promising prospects is Raisec Iglesias, a Cuban signee who joined the Reds in June. He performed well in the instructional league and Arizona Fall League, according to Williams. Like Chapman, he could start or come out of the bullpen “but (Manager Bryan Price) knows he’s projected to be a starter.”
One of the “ifs” is the health of key players, Williams said. First baseman Joey Votto and pitchers Homer Bailey and Sean Marshall all will be coming back from injuries. Rehab has gone well for all three, but the Reds won’t know how well they can perform until they take the field in spring training.
Another “if” is offense. The Reds acquired veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Phillies to improve their offensive production. “That gives us a lot of options,” Williams observed. “From 1 through 7 in the batting order, we will have very good offensive players.”
