Cincinnati Reds Make Bold Coaching Decision After Another Season of Offensive Struggles

Bringing back most of the same offensive coaching staff after the season the Cincinnati Reds just had is a bold choice.

That does not mean a coaching change would have fixed everything. The front office has to build a better roster, and the players have to perform. But when an offense struggles this much, keeping the same people in charge of helping those hitters improve deserves some scrutiny.

Chris Valaika will return as hitting coach, while assistant hitting coach Will Remillard will not be back. The Reds are making a change, but they are clearly putting their faith in the same leadership to produce different results.

Nick Krall Explains the Decision

President of baseball operations Nick Krall explained the offensive problems to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.

“Last year, we came and we added more power," Krall said. "At the end of the day, we were second in home runs [in the NL with 213] and last [in the NL] in runs scored. We need to get on base more, no question. First and foremost, we need to make better contact and get on base more. That’s the most important thing we can do.”

Krall is correct. Home runs help, but an offense cannot consistently produce when there aren't enough runners on base.

Why is This Staff the Answer?

The bigger question is why the Reds should feel confident that the same staff can fix those problems.

A big reason this offense has struggled is that players expected to become reliable contributors have gone backward. Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte and Will Benson, who is no longer on the roster, have all regressed significantly from the promise they showed earlier in their careers.

The Reds were confident they could make Ke'Bryan Hayes a better offensive player. In 2026, he had the worst season of his career.

Those are the types of players the Reds needed to develop. The Reds cannot afford to keep watching young hitters struggle and then try to replace them all from outside the organization.

That does not mean every player's struggles should be blamed on Valaika. Players deserve responsibility for their own performance. But helping hitters make adjustments and work through those struggles is part of the coaching staff’s job, too.

Krall also acknowledged a disconnect between the players the front office acquired and the approach the staff wanted to teach.

“We brought in players that didn’t necessarily fit that philosophy," Krall said. "We need to make sure we give those guys better players for them to develop.”

I give Krall credit for acknowledging the front office’s role. However, if the Reds brought in players who didn't fit their own hitting philosophy, that is a roster-construction problem they created.

But improving the roster is only part of the answer. The Reds also need more out of the players already here.

Keeping Valaika is a bet that their philosophy is right and that a better roster will lead to better results. That could work. But after the offensive struggles and the regression of players Cincinnati was counting on, there is plenty of reason to question it.

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