Reds GM Nick Krall signed his own pink slip with Eugenio Suarez salary dump

Expectations were fairly high for the Cincinnati Reds after bringing fan favorite Eugenio Suarez back to Cincinnati to join a Reds team that made an unlikely postseason appearance in 2025. Well, not only are the Reds all but out of postseason contention, but both Suarez and TJ Friedl were waived on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

While Rosenthal notes that both veterans are likely to clear waivers and finish out the year with Cincinnati, the 29 other teams have a chance to claim one or both of these players for nothing other than money. The fact that things have gone so poorly that the Reds felt the need to waive Suarez and Friedl shows that Nick Krall's seat should be piping hot.

Nick Krall's brutal offseason has Reds in tough spot

The goal for Krall this past offseason was abundantly clear. The Reds were coming off a playoff berth - it was on him to try and field a team capable of doing more damage in October this time around. Some of what's gone wrong, mainly the lengthy list of injuries (Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Elly De La Cruz, etc.) isn't his fault, but Krall also didn't make the Reds much better in the winter.

The big move was signing Suarez to a one-year, $15 million deal with a mutual option for 2027. Sure, Suarez wasn't Kyle Schwarber (the player the Reds should've tried harder to pursue), but he was coming off a 49-home run campaign and, of course, had already been an All-Star in Cincinnati before. Suarez was supposed to inject power into a lineup in clear need of it, but he has hit just .208 with 19 home runs and a 34.9 percent strikeout rate.

Another move worth second-guessing was the one letting Nick Martinez walk in free agency. Hindsight is 20/20, but Martinez made the All-Star team as a member of the Rays, while the Reds' rotation (other than Chase Burns) has underperformed all year. Martinez could've been brought back, but the Reds passed.

There were some wins, like signing Nathaniel Lowe and JJ Bleday to cheap deals, but if those are your biggest wins, that's a problem. Krall did not do enough to make the Reds better, and the proof is in the pudding. Waiving Suarez and TJ Friedl, two players Krall figured would be key contributors on the 2026 club, is a horrific look.

Nick Krall's trade deadline inactivity was a fireable offense

Not having a good offseason is frustrating, but fortunately, the trade deadline gives GMs an opportunity to bounce back. For example, David Stearns' offseason was obviously horrific, but he bounced back to an extent, pouncing on the opportunity to sell off veterans in exchange for prospects who can help the New York Mets win in the future. The Reds did not do this.

Despite sitting 5.5 games back with minimal postseason odds, the Reds essentially sat on their hands. They traded Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson in deals for a prospect and international bonus pool money. That was it. Not only did they make no effort to make the team better, but they chose to hold onto players on expiring contracts who were likely going to be gone after the year anyway.

You're telling me that if the Reds had eaten some of the money on Suarez's deal, even amid a bad season, they wouldn't have been able to move him for something? The same goes for Friedl, who has two more years of club control. You're telling me they couldn't have traded Tyler Stephenson, another impending free agent, in a market starved for catchers, for literally anything? What about Brock Burke? Brady Singer? Pierce Johnson? The list goes on. The Reds didn't have to trade players under control, but if you aren't trying to compete now, how do you not trade players on expiring contracts? If you don't want to sell, how do you not buy?

Not every deal is going to work out, but there's nothing more frustrating than inactivity. The Reds basically did nothing of note at the deadline to help their team for 2026 or beyond, and that falls squarely on Krall.

Nick Krall needs to be on Reds hot seat

Where do the Reds go from here? Their position player core has some solid pieces, but even with Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and JJ Bleday, the Reds are tied for 24th in the majors in runs scored. Their rotation should be their strong suit on paper, but both Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott have had down years and Hunter Greene is expected to be sidelined for most, if not all, of next season after undergoing his second Tommy John Surgery. Krall not trading him could prove to be yet another rough decision in hindsight.

There're some good pieces on this team, but there're also clearly tons of holes. Are the Reds really anywhere near competing, especially with teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs in their division?

At the end of the day, Krall has been calling the shots since 2018, and the Reds are still looking for their first playoff win under his leadership. It looked as if they were trending in the right direction after 2025, only for this season to happen. At a certain point, consistent losing can't be tolerated. Krall's seat should be scalding hot, and I wouldn't blame them at all for cutting bait this winter.

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