When the Cincinnati Reds signed future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona back in early October, there was a rumble among many that it was a sign they were finally going to get aggressive about winning.
Francona, who’d been away from the game for health reasons after leading the Cleveland Guardians to the cusp of a World Series title back in 2016, surely wouldn’t come out of retirement for anyone - let alone the spendthrift Reds - if they weren’t all about winning, right?
The Reds moved quickly to get Nick Martinez on the books with their gamble on the $21.