The underperforming Cincinnati Reds have fired their manager, David Bell, shortly after the team’s 2-0 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
The Reds were expected to be a playoff contender in 2024 thanks to a young and talented team, but they are now sitting at a 76-81 record and will miss the postseason for the fourth straight time.
Bell leaves the organization after six seasons and one playoff appearance. The move comes less than a year after he signed an extension that was supposed to keep him in Cincinnati through the 2026 MLB season.
“David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons. We felt a change was needed to move the Major League team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected, and we need to begin focusing on 2025,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said in a statement.
The Reds have five games left in the season, with bench coach Freddie Benavides being promoted to interim manager. The front office is expected to start the search for a permanent manager immediately, with former Chicago Cubs manager David Ross and the team’s former first baseman Eduardo Perez, who currently serves as a TV analyst, expected to be considered.
David Bell was hired as Cincinnati Reds’ manager ahead of the 2019 season after serving as a manager for their Double-A affiliate Carolina Mudcats and Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats earlier in his coaching career. He compiled a 409- 456 managerial record in MLB and led the Reds to playoffs in the shortened 2020 MLB season, where the Reds got swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card game.
