Krall on '23 Deadline, Votto, '24 and more

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- As the National League Championship Series continues between a pair of Wild Card entrants -- the Phillies and D-backs -- it's easy to think about how close the Reds came to being in the postseason this year.

And had the Reds made it, perhaps anything could have happened. Certainly, few expected Arizona to advance past the favored Brewers and Dodgers in the earlier playoff rounds.

The Reds faded down the stretch and finished 82-80, two games behind Arizona for the final NL Wild Card spot. Cincinnati would have owned the tiebreaker for that berth because of winning the season series.

Could the Reds have made it into October baseball with more help?

At the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline, Cincinnati added lefty reliever Sam Moll but didn't fill a need for a starting pitcher. Now the president of baseball operations after being promoted from general manager last month, Nick Krall isn't second-guessing himself.

"I don’t have any regrets [about] not doing anything," Krall said Wednesday. "I still wouldn’t have given up players on our roster for shorter-term assets. You’re just robbing Peter to pay Paul and you’re losing years of control with a lot of your younger players. I just didn’t think it made any sense.”

The Reds rotation's 5.43 ERA was ranked 28th in MLB this season, which is where it was ranked on Aug. 1. At the time, the club was banking on getting by a few more weeks with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo on the injured list. Both were due back around the end of August.

But Greene, who missed two months with a hip injury, was inconsistent upon returning and Lodolo never returned this season from a stress reaction to his left tibia suffered in May. The team also endured a COVID-19 outbreak in early September that hit several members of the pitching staff.

According to Krall, most of the trade requests for rental pitchers were not for Reds prospects further down in the player development system but for young players and prospects either already on the big league roster or who would debut over the final two months.

“Connor Phillips. Just about everybody asked for Connor Phillips," Krall said. "People were asking for Matt McLain and Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. I’m not kidding. A team asked us for Andrew Abbott for a rental.”

Obviously, Abbott was a pitcher already in the rotation. Phillips finished the season starting in the big leagues.

Krall noted that many of the starting pitchers acquired in trades by other clubs did not finish strong for their new teams. Jordan Montgomery did well for the Rangers, but others like Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and Jack Flaherty struggled.

"Some of the starters that were on the market didn’t perform like you thought they were going to," Krall said.

Among other items discussed with Krall on Wednesday:

• There have been no decisions made on whether to pick up the $20 million club option for first baseman Joey Votto. The 40-year-old would get a $7 million buyout if the option is declined but could still return as a free agent.

“We’re still working through some of our offseason stuff, who is coming off the roster and what it looks like," Krall said.

• Krall said the front office would "have to look at all aspects about improving the club," for 2024.

“How can we upgrade our club this offseason? Whether it’s starting pitching, bullpen, position players, I think we’re going to have to look at everything," he said.

Obviously, the Reds have more depth at several positions going into Spring Training next year. That's especially the case in the infield and rotation.

Infielders include Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, McLain, Steer, Encarnacion-Strand and possibly Votto. The rotation candidates are Greene, Lodolo, Abbott, Graham Ashcraft, Brandon Williamson and Phillips. If a starter is added from outside, that tightens the battle more.

“I think we’re going to have some tough decisions to make as we get into the end of camp," Krall said. "This offseason, can we add some players to help upgrade our roster? And what does it look like at the end of camp?”

That leaves the door open for players who were in the big leagues this season beginning next season at Triple-A Louisville.

“That’s probably going to have to happen," Krall said. "That’s going to be an option for some folks.”

While Steer could likely return to the outfield in 2024, Krall said there were no plans to move India or De La Cruz to outfield spots.

• The Reds do not have a 2024 budget for baseball operations yet but will be holding meetings next week.

• All of manager David Bell's coaches are being brought back next season.