CINCINNATI -- It takes more than several days to convert the Duke Energy Convention Center into a baseball paradise for Reds fans, and the finishing touches of that effort were being made Thursday for 2015 Redsfest this weekend.
Work crews were assembling displays, booths, elements for the main stage and more. Analogically fitting, the Reds themselves have a roster that is being worked on this winter for a rebuilding effort into 2016 -- and stretching possibly into 2017.
Cincinnati, which is coming off a 98-loss, last-place 2015 season, is actively exploring trades of some key players soon approaching free agency -- closer Aroldis Chapman is drawing plenty of interest -- as it focuses on the long term.