Krall on Bell heading into '25: 'We're going to evaluate everything'

MINNEAPOLIS -- As the Reds finish out a season that has fallen short of their postseason expectations, count on a top-to-bottom review of the team's performance and of its shortcomings soon after the last game is played.

That includes manager David Bell, his coaching staff and perhaps even the baseball operations department itself. The call on Bell's future – and the coaches – will ultimately be made by president of baseball operations Nick Krall and, of course, ownership.

“He’s got a contract for next year," Krall said when asked about Bell before Friday's game. “As of right now, we’re going to evaluate everything at the end of the year and see what we have to do to move forward.”

Friday's 8-4 Reds win over the Twins at Target Field – which included Elly De La Cruz's first career grand slam during a six-run top of the seventh inning – improved the club's record to 72-77. With 13 games remaining, they would have to finish 10-3 to attain a winning season while Fangraphs projects a zero percent chance of the club making the playoffs.

That underperformance has induced a chorus of questions about whether Bell's job could be in jeopardy, despite his being in the first season of a three-year contract extension through 2026.

Krall did not elaborate his feelings about Bell and his staff's performance, but noted that the team's record is tied to a multitude of factors.

“We’ve had some guys that have taken steps forward. And we’ve had some guys who have taken steps backwards," Krall said. "Part of it is youth. Part of it is we have to figure out how to get better. It’s on all of us. Obviously, I’m not happy with where we are, record-wise. It’s something that we just have to continue to grind and keep moving forward.”

Last month, Bell said "Our results are my responsibility."

Among the positives have been the All-Star seasons of De La Cruz and currently injured starting pitcher Hunter Greene. The team's pitching staff as a whole has largely been strong. Even with injuries rocking the rotation to put Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott on the injured list concurrently, a makeshift rotation has picked up the slack.

The latest example was the superb work of rookie Julian Aguiar on Friday. Aguiar, who made his sixth big league start, allowed three earned runs and three hits over a career-high 6 1/3 innings. The Reds' pitching staff has a 2.36 ERA for the month of September.

The team's September performance to date certainly can't hurt Bell's cause. Despite two series losses on the 10-game, four-city road trip, the Reds are 8-4 for the month.

"We’ve got to finish strong," De La Cruz said. "It doesn’t matter where we’re standing, we’ve got to finish strong to come in strong next year."

During the decisive seventh inning of a 1-1 game, the Reds showed they can still pull off surprises. After Spencer Steer's leadoff triple, TJ Friedl got the go-ahead run on the first pitch he saw with a perfect squeeze bunt to the right side for a hit.

“It was kind of a last-second split decision to lay the bunt down. With him on third, I knew he was winded. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this first-pitch or not,'" said Friedl, who also had a second-inning homer during his three-hit game. “I think for us, it’s just finishing the season strong. It’s playing aggressive, playing the way we play, going out there every day competing, trying to win the game.

"I think as long as we play our brand of baseball and just play aggressive, we’ll look up at the end of the season no matter where we’re at and be happy.”

On the other hand, the Reds' defensive shortcomings have been obvious and impossible to overlook – both to the eye and statistically. According to Fangraphs, they entered the day ranked 25th with -17 outs above average and 28th with a -30 defensive runs saved.

Baserunning gaffes have plagued the team as well. They entered as the Major Leagues' leader with 59 outs on the bases. Until the team holds its internal meetings, Krall was not ready to draw final conclusions.

“Not yet. We need to do a lot of things better to get more wins and get to where we want to get to," he said.