Matt’s Take: RedsFest success, additional bat is coming
By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist
As usual, the Reds continued their public excellence and being the best organization in the game regarding fan outreach over the weekend, as RedsFest was a major success as 21,743 attended RedsFest this year, which is a 5,000 increase in comparison to the last RedsFest in 2023.
It was great to see some of my favorites to chat about baseball with, including Phil Castellini and John Sadak, as well as many of the players and alumni who attended. I took my son for the first time and the bounce house, swings and slides interested him a bit more than talking to some of the greatest baseball athletes in the world (that will change eventually -Lol-).
RedsFest is a Cincinnati tradition and it’s great to see the human side of those that we watch or have watched for 162 games per year. We saw Tony Santillan being a great father and hanging with whom I presumed to be his daughter, as well as Zach Maxwell and Jay Allen II reading to kids with the Cincinnati Public Library.
The stage was full of events, the memorabilia I could still be looking at, and the hospitality is unmatched. Not to compare the two, but the Bengals could learn a thing or two from the Reds and fan outreach. It was a fantastic event.
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Additional bat coming
The best news from RedsFest by far though was the comments that came from Nick Krall regarding getting another bat. When asked if he expects to add another bat, Krall stated, “I would hope so, yeah. We’re still looking to add to our position player group.”
This is refreshing to see, especially after seeing Lux depart from this team (which I am fine with if this team uses that money to get a power hitter). This team is committed to McLain being the second baseman and that truly is the only position where Lux can play defensively. He will be better off with the Rays and I assume more happy there at his natural position. However, it does make the Sirota and draft pick trade for Lux last year look quite bad for Krall’s resume. Moving forward, though, I expect this team to add some depth and soon. By February, I expect some big news to occur.
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Reds quick highlights
Friedl will be practicing some reps in left field just in case he moves around.
Stewart will be a major part of this offense and has lost 20 pounds (and his mustache) this offseason. He appears to be in far better shape to play first base.
Not spending time talking on an unspecified contract that was offered to Elly. Just enjoy him while he is here.
It was great to see Rhett Lowder attending RedsFest. He is a major part of the future of this organization with Burns and Stewart.
FanDuel currently has the Reds over/under at 81.5, +400 to win the National League Central, and +4500 to win the World Series.
Don’t expect this team to be stealing a lot of bases again this season, as Francona again stated his dislike for outs on the base pads – so frustrating.
Elly De La Cruz will once again be batting third. I don’t think a single other team in all of baseball would do this, but this is a method that Francona likes. He should be leading off, forcing pitchers to pitch to him, and stealing second base to begin games.
Below, Jenna, Creed and Matthew McAdow are pictured at RedsFest with Reds TV announcer John Sadak.
