The Reds were coming off a 100-loss season and a major squad overhaul when they attended Redsfest the previous year. The off-season fan festival was centered around prospects the organization felt would help the club return to contention in the coming years, since the rebuilding process was well underway.
Cincinnati’s redevelopment proceeded more quickly than anticipated, and that future arrived soon after. These prospects, who arrived sooner than expected and performed crucial roles, including Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott, and Spencer Steer.
Now that’s a trio.
Before reaching 82-80 and narrowly missing the playoffs in 2023, the Reds showed themselves to be a dynamic, athletic contender. This has only increased anticipation for the 2024 season at Redsfest in 2023.
McLain stated, “There will be expectations, different expectations— hopefully higher.” It’s something that we all desire. The pressure that everyone desired when they said, “There’s this wave of talent,” when we were here the previous year. Now that we’ve shown up and performed well, we can finally call ourselves those people. We now want to be the ones to lead Cincinnati into the postseason.
Not just the young boys are affected. Everyone on the entire roster is involved. We want to be a part of that, year in and year out, and help rebuild Cincinnati’s baseball winning legacy.
They’re baaaaaaaaaack
The D-backs became the last National League Wild Card entrant for the postseason in 2023 after winning 84 games. Arizona advanced all the way to the World Series after being admitted, but they were defeated by the champion Rangers there.
According to Abbott, “it set [our] sights on the postseason for sure next year.” It also demonstrates the potential of a strong squad in the postseason. They were scorching hot when they arrived and remained so till the very end.
As a squad, we are thinking about the postseason. The guys are highly motivated, if I may use that term, when it comes to being kind of focused on the team’s overall goal. Naturally, the most important thing is to better oneself, but the team as a whole must also benefit from this.
Day 1 of #Redsfest in the books ️
See you tomorrow, Reds Country!
Although the Reds did not release the final attendance figures, most people thought that Friday and Saturday’s Redsfest crowds were bigger than in previous years. Fans swarmed the walkways, there were long waits for photos and autographs (especially for De La Cruz and McLain), and the seats closest to the main stage were frequently packed.
“I believe there is a greater level of enthusiasm from the fans,” said Nick Lodolo, the starter. We have been discussing potential explanations. Even while we’ve seen hints of it, it’s still not where we want it to be or where we can be. Since everyone is here to win, there is excitement among all of them. I believe it will be entirely different and ready to go, especially heading into Spring Training.
The Reds players expressed satisfaction with the team’s efforts to improve for the upcoming season with the arrival of Nick Martinez, a possible starting pitcher, and Emilio Pagán, a reliever.
Lodolo remarked, “I like it; those guys are definitely going to help us.” “I’m not sure if we’re finished. I’m here to help in whatever way we can improve.”
Abbott stated, “They’re moving, and I think they’re going to help out immediately.” “They have military experience. They have been doing that up there for some time. They’ll just get started right away.
The Reds still have room to improve with the Winter Meetings starting next week and more than two months of offseason left before Spring Training.
There’s no denying that many players and spectators alike seem to enjoy the current bunch, even in the unlikely event that they recruit any more exciting members.
Jonathan India, the second baseman, stated, “This is a special team this coming year.” And a whole year has passed for each of those rookies. They will all get better. This year is going to be terrifying for us again because of how much better and more experienced they are. This year looks to be fantastic, in my opinion.