The Three Worst Decisions of the Nick Krall Era

The Reds front office has struggled to bring in players to help their roster get over the hump in the last few years.

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It started off promising for the Cincinnati Reds in 2026, but the roster continues to struggle with the same issues year after year.

The organization has made a lot of progress since 2020. There has arguably been more excitement about this team than in over a decade.

With a smaller budget than most, it is incredibly more difficult to build a successful roster. Nobody doubts that. The issue right now is that the free agent signings and trades that Nick Krall and staff have made over the past few years haven't worked for the most part.

Small market teams have to hit on a majority of their signings and trades because there quite frankly isn't enough opportunity to afford misses.

The Reds are dealing with a few of those moves not working this season, so it is time to power rank the three worst moves in the Nick Krall era.

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#3 - Mike Moustakas

Coming off an All-Star season with Milwaukee in 2019, this was a move that Reds fans were very excited for. He had 30 doubles and 35 home runs with the Brewers, and the prospect of that level of power being brought to Great American Ball Park was very exciting.

He signed a four-year, $64 million deal with Cincinnati in December of 2019. To say it didn't work out would be an understatement. Though part of his tenure with the Reds was affected by COVID, it quickly became one of the worst contracts in franchise history.

In the three seasons he was here, he hit 33 doubles with 21 home runs. He was constantly dealing with injuries, and his glove was nonexistent. He was almost a completely different player when he put on a Reds uniform. His OBP never eclipsed .330, and his batting average never was higher than .230.

He was released by the Reds in 2023 with $22 million left on his contract, making it one of the worst signing the Reds have ever made.

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#2 Jeimer Candelario

"The Candy Man Can!" He certainly could not. It was a surprising move, but in 2023, the Reds signed Candelario to a 3-year, $45 million contract.

Coming off a decent season with the Nationals and Cubs in 2023, Nick Krall and company liked what they saw and thought he could bring some veteran leadership to a young roster. For a little while, he was at least competitive at the plate.

That quickly faded after hitting .113 in 2025 and was released that June. The Reds had to eat $22.5 million. In 2023, he mustered up 23 doubles and 20 home runs. There have certainly been worse seasons. It just wasn't anywhere close to what the Reds needed from him. His tenure with the Reds will not be remembered fondly.

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#1 Ke'Bryan Hayes

For a team that was in desperate need of offense, Nick Krall decided he wanted to prioritize defense in late July of 2025. They traded Taylor Rogers, prospect Sammy Stafura, and cash considerations for the gold glover.

At the time, it was baffling, and now, after a season and a half of watching Ke'Bryan Hayes swing a bat, it is mind-boggling. Since 2024, Hayes has yet to have an OBP above .300, and his average has consistently been around .235.

He has 11 total home runs since 2024, and has hit 27 doubles during that stretch. The offense was not why the Reds traded for him, and he has been a very good defender with the Reds.

However, for a team that struggles so much with offensive consistency, it makes no sense why Hayes was the guy they were going to bring in.

In 2026, he is slashing .153/.203/.243, and those numbers actually seem better than they really are. He can't be relied upon to get on base or bring runners home. 17 hits in 118 plate appearances is more than enough reason to let him go. The issue is that the Reds have him under team control through 2029. It is a sunk cost for a team that doesn't have money to be throwing around.

For all of the players that this front office has brought in, you could at least argue that they were attempting to fix a problem. Guys like Frankie Montas, Shogo Akiyama, and Wil Myers were all brought to Cincinnati to help an area of need.

Trading for another infielder who can't swing a bat was the wrong choice. Is there time for him to turn it around? Sure. Maybe that average can soar up to .230, but is he really going to help the Reds moving forward? The answer is, of course, no.