Reds sack coach David Bell after 6 seasons and appoint substitute coach Freddie Benavides as interim coach

The Cincinnati Reds fired coach David Bell on Sunday evening after six seasons.

The team announced the move hours after a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and named reserve coach Freddie Benavides as interim coach for the final five games of the season.

“David has provided the consistency we needed in our clubhouse over the past few seasons. We felt a change was needed to move the Major League team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected and must focus on 2025,” Nick Krall, president of baseball operations, said in a statement on the Reds' website.

With one week to go in the season, the Reds are in fourth place in the NL Central at 76-81, 13 1/2 games behind division champion Milwaukee. Cincinnati finishes the season with five road games. The Reds have a two-game series at Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday before finishing the season with three games in Chicago against the Cubs.

Bell, 52 – whose grandfather Gus and father Buddy both spent part of their careers in Cincinnati – was hired by the Reds in October 2018. In six seasons, he posted a record of 409-456.

Under Bell, the Reds reached a postseason berth in his second season in 2020, which was shortened to 60 games due to COVID-19.

The Reds finished the 2021 season with a respectable record of 83-79, which was enough for third place in the National League Central. That season also saw second baseman Jonathan India win the National League Rookie of the Year award.

In 2022, Cincinnati lost 100 games for the first time in four decades. The Reds improved their record to 82-80 in 2023, despite leading the major leagues with 650 games missed due to injury.

This season began with high expectations, but Bell and the Reds were unable to live up to them. They were five games under .500 after an eight-game losing streak in May. They won seven games in a row in June to get back to one game under .500, but were unable to sustain the success.

This lack of consistency would prove to be a trend for the rest of the season.

The Reds beat the Yankees in a three-game series in New York from July 2-4, but then faltered again. They looked like they might make the postseason when they beat the Cardinals on August 12 and 14 to improve their record to 60-61, moving them into a tie with St. Louis for second place in the NL Central and just a half-dozen games away from a wild-card spot.

But consistency was again an issue and Bell lost three of his best starting pitchers, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott, to injuries. Cincinnati is 12-8 in September.

During Bell's tenure, the Reds brought in a talented core that was supposed to take the organization back to the top, including India, Greene, Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain. But Cincinnati hasn't been able to get over the hump.

Bell is the third manager fired this season. The Chicago White Sox fired Pedro Grifol and three other managers on Aug. 8, just days after the team ended an American League-record 21-game losing streak.

The Seattle Mariners released Scott Servais on August 22, in the middle of his ninth season with the team.

Krall plans to speak to the media on Monday at Great American Ball Park.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb