Reds Team Leader Rips Management After Missing Playoffs Again

The Cincinnati Reds came into the 2024 season with high hopes after finishing just 2.0 games out of a playoff spot last season. But they've taken a big step back, sitting at 76-82 and 11 games back of a Wild Card spot. And team leader Jonathan India doesn't like it. He's calling out team ownership and management.

We’re tired of losing. It’s the same thing every year here. We just float around .500 and try to make the push but we just don’t have enough. We need to make a move. I know what it is, but I just want to say it to the media...
There’s a certain thing we need to go get.

He never specified what that "certain thing" is. But what we do know is that the Reds have specialized more in recent years in letting star players go, rather than signing them. Trevor Bauer (yes, say what you want about him) won the Cy Young in 2020 for Cincinnati, but they let him walk that offseason. Nick Castellanos also was let go when he opted for free agency.

The Reds payroll ranks No. 22 in MLB. And India just doesn't think they can continue on this way, as he told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

They need to make moves. I want to win. Everyone wants to win. That’s the bottom line. We know we can. There are certain things that I think should happen.

India himself has been featured in trade rumors over the past two years, and perhaps it could be this winter that a move comes to fruition. He has two more years of team control, and will earn $5 million next season. The 27-year-old former Rookie of the Year has had a fine 2024 with 15 homers, 58 RBIs and a .748 OPS.

Will he be back in 2025?

"Who knows if I’ll be here next year. Who knows if (Tyler) Stephenson will be here. We’re running out of time. We were the young core. Then, we added Elly (De La Cruz) and so many guys.

"I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to it anymore. I thought for the last two years that I wouldn’t be here. I continue to, and I’m blessed. I love this place. They know I do. We’ll see."