Rival MLB Owners Make Stunning Prediction About Cincinnati Reds’ Future

This would be a surprise.

Apr 11, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Reds’ owner Bob Castellini, left, talks with former player and Hall of Fame Barry Larkin before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cincinnati Reds fans have been calling for the Castellini family to sell the team for years. According to one MLB insider, they may eventually get their wish.

After longtime Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno sold the team last week, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that other owners around the league believe the Reds could be the next franchise to change hands.

“Rival owners predict that the Cincinnati Reds could be the next MLB team sold,” Nightengale wrote. “Certainly, Bob Castellini will make a cool profit if he does put them on the block, purchasing the franchise for $270 million in 2006. It's now worth about $1.6 billion.”

Nightengale did not report that the Reds are currently for sale, but the possibility alone will get the attention of a fan base that has grown increasingly frustrated with the organization’s ownership.

Reds Fans are Beyond Frustrated

Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini gives a speech during statue unveiling for former Cincinnati Reds sportscaster Marty Brennaman at Crosley Terrace, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

That frustration reached another level in 2022, when Reds President and Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini was asked why fans should continue placing their trust in the organization.

“Well, where you gonna go," Castellini said. "Let's start there. I mean, sell the team to who? I mean, that's the other thing, I mean, you wanna have this debate? If you wanna look at what would you have this team do to have it be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists, it would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. And, so, be careful what you ask for. I think we're doing the best we can do with the resources that we have."

Those comments immediately angered Reds fans, and they have followed the ownership group ever since.

They also sounded a lot different from the message Bob Castellini delivered after his group purchased the franchise in 2006.

“We’re buying the Reds to win. Anything else is unacceptable.."

Two decades later, the results have fallen well short of those expectations.

The Reds have not won a postseason series since 1995 and have not won a postseason game since 2012. Despite occasionally assembling promising young rosters, Cincinnati has been unable to build a consistent winner under the Castellinis.

There is no indication that a sale is imminent or that the ownership group has officially put the franchise on the market. Still, rival owners apparently believe the Reds could be the next MLB team sold, and Nightengale’s report will give frustrated fans at least some hope that a major change could eventually be coming.