Prior to the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball season, the Cincinnati Reds splashed what could amount to $164 million in the free agent market. It landed Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama, and Wade Miley.
It also shocked our socks off.
Spending in free agency simply has not been ingrained in the Reds business model for most of my adult life. Thinking back, there’s the then-record 4-year deal doled out for closer Francisco Cordero that topped the $40 million mark, a 2-year reunion with Ryan Ludwick, and the gritty foray into Skip Schumaker territory that come to mind, and that’s just about it.