It became less of an issue when the Cincinnati Reds faded out of the playoff race in September and the St. Louis Cardinals won 17 consecutive games, but the lack of depth at certain positions was highlighted in the final weeks of the season.
Jesse Winker, Tyler Naquin and Shogo Akiyama were sidelined in the outfield. Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel were out. Wade Miley went on the injured list with a neck injury. Rookie starter Vladimir Gutierrez seemingly hit a wall after crossing 120 innings, which followed a season where he threw zero innings.
Since the beginning of the offseason, the lack of depth has been magnified after the Reds placed Miley on waivers, traded Tucker Barnhart, saw Nick Castellanos opt out of his contract and lost relievers Michael Lorenzen and Mychal Givens to free agency.