The Cincinnati Reds got a jump-start on planning for the 2025 season with Sunday’s firing of manager David Bell, and it figures to be an attractive opening given the team’s star-studded young core.
Former Reds player Skip Schumaker has been installed as the 2/1 favorite by one sportsbook to be the team’s next manager. Schumaker won the National League Manager of the Year Award in 2023 and is expected to be a coveted name once his contract expires despite the terrible season his Miami Marlins have endured.
He leads a list of 17 potential candidates that also includes Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable and former Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland manager Terry Francona.
Venable could be another name who proves to be a hot commodity this offseason. He’s only 41, but the Guardians are headed to the playoffs under first-year manager Stephen Vogt this season and Venable earned a World Series ring with the Rangers last season.
REDS’ NEXT MANAGER ODDS* Skip Schumaker (2/1) Will Venable (6/1) Terry Francona (7/1) Barry Larkin (8/1) Pat Kelly (8/1) David Ross (9/1) Freddie Benavides (9/1) Gabe Kapler (9/1) Scott Servais (9/1) Joey Votto (10/1) Derek Johnson (12/1) Miguel Cairo (12/1) Aaron Boone (16/1) Don Mattingly (16/1) Kristopher Negron (16/1) Brad Ausmus (18/1) Collin Cowgill (18/1) *Odds by SportsBetting.ag provided for entertainment purposes only.
Benavides is serving as the Reds’ interim manager, while Ross was let go by the Chicago Cubs last offseason so they could lure Craig Counsell away from Milwaukee.
Schumaker and Ross were mentioned as potential candidates by the Cincinnati Enquirer along with other former managers, including Servais, Mattingly, Ausmus and Phil Nevin.
Also mentioned by the Enquirer was Cairo, who currently serves as the Washington Nationals’ bench coach and played for the Reds from 2010-12. He has brief managerial experience, going 18-16 on an interim basis for the Chicago White Sox in 2022.
Bell, 52, had signed a three-year extension with the club in July 2023, a deal that was supposed to keep him in Cincinnati through the 2026 campaign.
In six seasons managing the Reds (2019-24), Bell led the team to a 409-456 record. Cincinnati made the playoffs once during Bell’s tenure — during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
The Reds are 76-81 this season and already have been eliminated from postseason contention. They are set to open a two-game series with the host Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.