Benavides 'excited for the opportunity' to manage Reds

CLEVELAND -- Every time that Freddie Benavides had been in the visitors' clubhouse at Progressive Field, he always shared a space with the team’s other coaches.

That wasn’t the case Tuesday.

Two days after Cincinnati fired manager David Bell, Benavides made his debut as the team’s interim manager in the Reds’ 6-1 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field.

“Now, I have my own locker and desk,” Benavides said. “It’s a little weird, but I love it.”

A baseball lifer, Benavides was drafted by Cincinnati in 1987 and -- following his retirement as a player in '96 -- spent nearly 10 years working in the team’s farm system before joining the team’s Major League staff in 2019.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity, whether it’s five days or 10 years,” said Benavides, who is open to interviewing for the full-time position. “I’m going to really enjoy it. I’ve got a great staff in there with me, and the players have been very receptive and respectful. It’s been outstanding. I’ve already had some talks; it’s been great.”

Benavides was quick to mention that his temporary promotion to manager was “bittersweet,” as it came at the expense of Bell, who was well-liked among Reds players.

“[Bell being fired] isn’t a good feeling, because a lot of it should fall on us because we didn’t perform,” said Jonathan India. “It’s always sad that the manager gets the brunt of the blame, but I take accountability for sure. I know I didn’t play up to my potential -- and I know some players would agree -- but all we can do is move on.

“I think a couple of us were wondering why it happened five days before the end of the season. It’s kind of shocking, but you can’t hang your head down and get upset. It’s part of this cutthroat game we play. I feel like there’s going to be a lot of changes in the offseason.”

When Brent Suter first saw the news about Bell’s firing, he thought it was fake.

“It wasn’t a fun way to go to bed on Sunday,” he said.

Like India, Suter preached a message of accountability.

“It’s part of the growth this team needs to take to get to the next level,” Suter said. “We all need to take accountability for our manager losing his job. [We need to get] better from it, know what we did wrong, fix those mistakes and hold each other more accountable [while making] sure we play a tighter brand of baseball.”

For All-Star starting pitcher Hunter Greene, the team’s lack of success came down to a myriad of reasons.

“There’s a lot of different factors, I can’t give you that true answer,” Greene said. “There’s fundamental issues, injury issues and holding each other accountable. There’s a lot of different factors. All that plays into our success as a team.”

Tuesday’s loss was more a matter of a lack of execution than simple mistakes. The Reds played error-free baseball and didn’t make any mistakes on the basepaths (two things that have plagued the team this season), but they only managed to muster four hits against starter Tanner Bibee and the Guardians' bullpen.

“He kept us off balance and kept balls off the barrel,” said Benavides.

Spot starter Carson Spiers allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in four innings after scheduled starter Jakob Junis was scratched for personal reasons.

“That’s a guy who showed and found out he was starting after the bus got here,” Benavides said. “He gave us four big innings. Credit to him.”

Cincinnati's lone run came in the fourth inning when Tyler Stephenson led off with a double before he was driven in by Spencer Steer.

“We didn’t swing the bats as we have [before],” Benavides said. “The guys had energy, but we fell behind early.”

While five games won’t be enough time for Benavides to turn around the troubles that have plagued Cincinnati all season, it will give him at least a little bit of time to help establish a culture that the team’s core could take into next year -- no matter who is at the helm.

“You’ve got to go out there every day and bust your tail,” he said. “It’s all about attention to detail and improvement. Fundamental baseball. Mistakes are going to happen and that’s where the guys learn, but there’s consequences when it’s the same mistakes over and over and over.”