Wittenmyer & Williams is a regular point/counterpoint column from Enquirer Reds reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and sports columnist Jason Williams. They’re back with their first offseason column addressing the Reds’ decision to keep payroll flat and what it means ahead of the annual general manager meetings.
Williams: The GM meetings are starting this week in Las Vegas. Not sure why the Reds are bothering to show up. Ownership folded before the offseason even started by saying the Reds aren’t raising the payroll for 2026 after making the playoffs. What a letdown for the fans.
Wittenmyer: What a letdown for the players and baseball management, too, after they busted their asses to make the playoffs against all odds. Now here we are again with the front office taking a handful of nickels and dimes into free agency. If there’s a positive for the fans, it’s that Nick Krall’s front office has had some success making it work before – including last offseason.
Williams: Good luck pulling a rabbit out of the hat two years in a row. These guys aren’t exactly Houdini. They can’t make Jeimer Candelario’s $15 million in dead money disappear from the 2026 books. By your own roster projection, the Reds might only have $20 million to $25 million to work with.
Wittenmyer: I know it’s not a lot. And I know ownership is counting on Terry Francona magic more than taking accountability for its own obligation to the fans. But that might be enough to improve a roster that already has a good starting rotation coming back and a core that now has playoff experience.
Williams: Uh, playoff experience? I didn’t even get enough time to grab a Dodger Dog before having to turn around and head back home after the Reds’ two-game elimination in Los Angeles. Yes, technically, those were playoff games. But the Reds didn’t even get a home playoff game, so it hardly felt like playoff experience. This team needs a bat, not false hope and some pixie-dust optimism for another playoff cameo.
Wittenmyer: You know how I feel about their need for a big bat. I wrote about it all summer. And obviously Kyle Schwarber and probably Pete Alonso are off the table, thanks to ownership. But there’s still just enough wiggle room for improvement on the Reds’ crappy budget. You start with bringing back closer Emilio Pagan.
Williams: Pagan?! That might cost half the Reds’ available budget.
Wittenmyer: Right. And it would be worth it to have him at the back end of a bullpen that now has a lot of big, competitive arms that have come up through the system. Now you add a little bit of depth and you have a playoff-caliber pitching staff.
Williams: Big, unproven arms. And by your logic, you’re just throwing in the towel on trying to get a big bat.
Wittenmyer: Ownership already threw in that towel. With the owners choosing profits over a serious playoff effort, the only approach left for the front office is to firm up its strengths and look for some upside bats and guys who can catch the ball.
Williams: Snooze. Translation: They’re back to putting their competitive hopes on Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain and Noelvi Marte. All they need now is to sign Christian Encarnacion-Strand to an extension. Get the band back together. Sounds a lot like the Bengals‘ approach with their defense.
Wittenmyer: Ouch. That’s below the belt.
Williams: I’m just tired of status quo. Francona and this team earned better than this. And the fans deserve much better than this after all these years of empty promises and being told to “be patient.”
Wittenmyer: You know I agree with you on that. We’ve talked about it a lot. All I’m saying is there might be a narrow window here that allows this team to get something more out of this young core before it starts breaking up. Obviously, that has to start now and if ownership’s not going to help make it happen, then it’s up to Krall’s department. And maybe that includes making a creative trade or two. What can they get by trading Brady Singer and his projected $10 million-plus salary?
Williams: So we’re going down that road, eh?
Wittenmyer: They might have to consider that.
Williams: Well, if you’re going to do that, go all the way. Aggressively shop Hunter Greene.
Wittenmyer: And then what do you do about a starting rotation that starts to look a lot closer to average?
Williams: That’s what I’m saying. That’s the stuff I’m tired of. You have to rob Peter to pay Paul every year with this team because of how much you’re paying Bob and Phil.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds’ stagnant payroll says they’re out on Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso
