Wittenmyer & Williams: The Cincinnati Reds are a good team. Here's what it'll take for ownership and the front office to build a World Series champion.
Wittenmyer & Williams is a regular point/counterpoint column from Enquirer Reds reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and sports columnist Jason Williams. This week, they discuss who needs to step up to make the bold move of trading Hunter Greene. Reds owner Bob Castellini or team president Nick Krall?
Wittenmyer: Helluva take in your column the other day. Hunter Greene pitches six scoreless innings against the Phillies and you want to trade him.
Williams: Heck, at least I waited until mid-August to say the Reds should trade him. You had him traded two months ago.
Wittenmyer: You're right about that. If he was back from the IL sooner, they should've traded him at the deadline. This is one of those rare things we agree on – even if it's not exactly popular among fans right now on social media.
Williams: Well, I wonder how many of those cheapshot artists on Twitter have been teammates with Greene. Or how many of them have talked to the people who I've talked to about it.
Wittenmyer: That's part of the point. Nobody denies how great a pitcher this guy is. But when he's spent time the last few days talking about "trying to stay present," all I could think about was how much that's the problem: He's not present enough. No matter what the reason for that is, they've had to try to win without him. And they've done a good job of it. Greene's so good, and he's on a team-friendly contract for the next three years. They could fill a lot of needs by trading him at the end of the season.
Williams: Do you want to win a World Series? Or do you want to keep dreaming about a guy who can't stay on the field? Because even with Greene being on a team-friendly deal, the Reds can't afford to have him take nearly three months to come back from a three-week injury. Create the biggest bidding war of the offseason. Greene might be the biggest trading chip in the game. 100 mph fastball. Nasty slider. Young. Established. Everybody is going to line up to see what it takes to get him.
Wittenmyer: Now we'll see if the front office has the guts to do it. In fact, I'll take it one step further. For them to do what it takes to make this team a World Series contender while Terry Francona's here, that's going to take guts from the front office and ownership.
Williams: What do you mean by that? Nick Krall can trade Greene if he wants.
Wittenmyer: Right. But that's only part of what needs to be done. Whatever he gets for Greene, the next biggest priority of the offseason should be pursuing hometown free-agent Kyle Schwarber. And that's where owner Bob Castellini has to finally step up. It's time for both ownership and the front office to play as hard as the players on Francona's team have all year long.
Williams: Castellini has played hardball all his life. He didn't make enough money to buy a baseball team by being soft.
Wittenmyer: Well, now he needs to take some of that money he's been sticking in his pocket from the team profits and spending it on the right player.
Williams: And I can't think of a better player to spend it on than Schwarber.
Wittenmyer: Quit agreeing with me. That's not how this column works.
Williams: I wonder if the bigger problem is Krall holding too tight to the club's prospects, and at times not being willing to get aggressive. Just look at the 2023 trade deadline.
Wittenmyer: You know what I think of that '23 deadline. That still sticks in my craw. One mediocre starting pitcher at the deadline and those guys are in the playoffs instead of the Diamondbacks – who went to the World Series. But Krall's a good baseball man who wants to win and did get aggressive enough to go get Francona. If his owner was willing to get a little more aggressive, they might have a chance of shocking the world in the next couple of years.
Williams: If you were willing to take the bold step to get Francona – and paying around $7.5 million for two managers this year after firing David Bell – then I want to believe they're going to take another step and go after Schwarber.
Wittenmyer: If you believe that, I've got some oceanfront property to sell you in Arizona. They should do it. But that's a long way from them actually doing it.
Williams: If this season is proving anything, it's that they're closer than a lot of people thought. They're agonizingly close. They're a good team with a great manager. It's become crystal clear they're missing a piece or two from being a great team. And that's not Hunter Greene. But it might be Kyle Schwarber.
Wittenmyer: Yeah? The missing piece might be a great owner. Castellini has the revenue and the payroll flexibility to go big and make this team a bona fide contender. If he has the guts.
Williams: Castellini had guts enough to sign off on a $45 million contract for Jeimer Candelario. How'd that work out for Krall when the club had to eat half of that contract because he was so bad that Francona couldn't play him? The Reds would have more payroll flexibility if Krall has the guts to trade Greene and the $42 million left on his contract after this season. That's money that could go toward Schwarber or cover a bat the Reds might get back in a Greene trade.
Wittenmyer: Talk about the ultimate gut check for the franchise. The manager and the players have done everything they can do. Hell, they might even make the playoffs this year. But how far they go the next two years is all about how big Castellini and Krall decide to go.
Williams: We agree on that much. And if they don't go big, they might as well just keep going home every October.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trade Greene? Sign Schwarber? How Reds could build World Series champ
Category: General Sports
