Reds fueling 2024 postseason goals with last year's experience

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The calendar may have said that Tuesday was the day marked for the Reds to gather again to open Spring Training with the arrival of pitchers and catchers. But it was not the beginning of the discussion about higher expectations for 2024.

That already happened last year, right after a young and surprising Cincinnati team won 82 games, but fell two games short of reaching the postseason. The talk continued into the winter, especially during Redsfest in December.

“I think last year we all realized what we had, just how fun it was and how special we were," catcher Tyler Stephenson said. "With how short we ended up last year, personally, I was bitter. I really didn’t watch much of the playoffs. We were so close. We could have been in their shoes."

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The Reds finished 62-100 amid a teardown and rebuild in 2022, then stunned baseball by contending into the last weekend of '23. They did it with several rookies and less experienced players, who brought excitement to the field and energetic fans back into Great American Ball Park.

But falling short is falling short, and last year is just what it was -- last year.

"We don’t want to come into camp just comfortable, complacent and happy with the previous year," starting pitcher Hunter Greene said. "We want to continue to build and obviously bring the winning back.”

Spending more than $108 million this offseason, the front office worked in the winter to fortify the rotation and bullpen. Frankie Montas was the key starter added, but swingman Nick Martinez will also compete for the starting five. Relievers Brent Suter and Emilio Pagán joined the bullpen.

“These are guys with experience," Stephenson said. "They did a great job this offseason getting some pieces. They all seem like they’re going to fit in right away. It will be a huge help.”

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Cincinnati's rotation was ranked 28th in ERA last season as it battled injuries and inconsistent performances from its young staff. Now it's up to all of the players to step up.

“It has always been up to us," Greene said. "No matter what moves the front office makes, we have to be the ones that go out there and compete and play 162-plus [games]. I don’t think we’ve lost sight of that.”

Unlike the previous Spring Training, there are no major question marks facing the Reds. Of course, there will be competition -- a lot of it. They will have 10 contenders for five rotation spots, several more pitchers competing for bullpen spots and an infield that has more talented everyday players than available positions.

“I think the questions are going to play themselves out through Spring Training," president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "You're going to have a lot of guys that are going to play themselves into a role and hopefully guys don't play out of a role. Being able to bring in some quality depth and at different positions is a good thing."

New players join the young core that features Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jonathan India, Graham Ashcraft, Greene and more. All still have less than three seasons of big league experience.

“It helps a lot because you already have that structure there, [knowing] what you need to do and how we like to do things, and just kind of roll with it," Ashcraft said. "Guys either accept it or don’t. The guys that don’t accept it fall off the wagon. The guys that do run with it. The guys we’ve had come up or come in from other teams, that’s what they’ve done. They’ve taken it and run with it.”

Manager David Bell said he doesn't have a theme or motto for a season heading into any Spring Training.

"Playoffs or bust" isn't exactly a fresh theme, but that would work until a better one comes along.

“That’s the way it should be, and that's the way we see it," Bell said. "It's like having the long-term vision of the ultimate goal. It's important to know what you're shooting for. A lot was built last year. We want to continue to build on that, but in a lot of ways, it starts all over again.”