Reds Dismiss Bell as Manager; Benavides Takes Over Helm for Last Week of 2024 Season

With a week left in the season, the Cincinnati Reds have fired manager David Bell. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will take over the club on an interim basis for the final five games of the 2024 season.

Bell, who turned 52 one week ago today, has managed the Reds since 2019. His tenure was an up and down one. The Reds would make the post-season during the COVID shortened 2020 season. By 2022, the Reds would endure a 100-loss season only to nearly make it back to the post-season last year. At the time of Bell's firing, the Reds were in fourth place in the NL Central with a 76-81 record, 13½ games back of the division winning Milwaukee Brewers. In just under six seasons with the Reds, the team was 409-456. 

This is what I don't get about Bell's firing. Why they let Bell go after giving him a three-year extension through the 2026 season last year? Why give your manager a multi-year contract extension only to fire him after less than one season?

I'm sure this might give Bell's successor pool some pause for thought before coming to the Queen City.

With that said, it is nice to see Benavides get a chance to manage at the big-league level even if only for a week. I remember Benavides as a member of the expansion Colorado Rockies in 1993 and saw him play against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium on Labour Day of that year. Benavides would play with the Expos the following season which was the best team to never win a World Series. 

But Benavides' Bonafide's are with the Reds who drafted him in 1987. He played with the Reds at the big-league level in 1991 and 1992 before the Rockies pried him away in the expansion draft. Benavides returned to the Reds organization 25 years ago and has worked in player development, a minor league manager and minor league field coordinator before joining the Reds big-league coaching staff in 2014 when Bryan Price was the team's manager. Benavides was initially a special coach responsible for infield defense before becoming the team's first base coach in 2016. When Bell took over the club in 2019, Benavides moved to bench coach. 

Let's just say that Benavides has paid his dues. Perhaps he will get a shot at managing the club in 2025. But given how mercurial Reds' management has been it might be better if he gets a full fledged major league managerial assignment elsewhere.