David

Bell

The 52-year-old was cut loose by the Reds in late September after his squad stumbled down the stretch and missed the postseason. He brings with him a wealth of experience in the game and should be an asset to the Jays’ front office where he will oversee player development. No word on the financials or the duration of the contract.

There had been speculation of late that Bell was in danger despite having two years left on his contract. The Reds are 76-81 this season, leaving him 409-456 in his six years at the helm. Their two-winning seasons during the span saw them go 83-79 and 82-80. The thriftiness of ownership certainly has more to do with the win-loss records than Bell does, but at the same time, a change doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will replace Bell on an interim basis.

No word yet on the financial terms of the contract, but the deal will keep Bell in Cinicinnati through the 2026 season. He has been awfully impressive at the helm of one of the youngest and brightest rosters in all of baseball, leading the Reds to a 56-48 record heading into play on Friday — just 1.5 games behind the Brewers for the top spot in the National League Central.

The good news is that he’s expected to return on Saturday. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will serve as acting manager Friday against the Phillies in Philadelphia.

McKeithan, a former Vanderbilt standout, who previously worked for the Phillies, and also has ties to Driveline Baseball, takes over as the Reds’ hitting coach on manager David Bell’s staff. Former Royals’ hitting coach Terry Bradshaw has also been hired as an assistant hitting coach.

Bell will return, but there will be considerable changes to his staff. Hitting coach Alan Zinter, first base/infield/baserunning coach Delino DeShields, advance scouting coach Cristian Pérez, bullpen coach Lee Tunnell and assistant coach Rolando Valles will not be back with the Reds after a 62-100 season. Cincinnati was very much in rebuild mode in 2022, and Bell likely won’t be expected to make this a playoff contender in 2023. His contract will expire at the end of next year.

McKeithan comes from the Tigers, where he was the minor-league hitting coordinator. As part of an announcement on Monday, the Reds also named Rolando Valles and Kyle Arnsberg as major league assistant coaches.

Farrell, the son of former Red Sox manager John Farrell, has spent the past six seasons in the Cubs’ player development department. In addition to hiring Farrell, the Reds have promoted Casey Weathers to pitching coordinator after working as a rehabilitation coach/Arizona Complex League development coach for the past two seasons. He’ll work under director of pitching (and pitching coach) Derek Johnson and alongside minor league pitching coordinator Brian Conger in his new role.

Johnson will remain the Reds’ pitching coach, but, per a statement from general manager Nick Krall, he is also now “going to be responsible for the development and communication of our pitching philosophy and initiatives throughout the organization, from the major league team all the way down through our minor league affiliates.” The added role comes with a contract extension. Driveline founder Kyle Boddy was the director of pitching for Cincinnati in 2021 before mutually parting ways with the organization in mid-September.

The new deal will run through the 2023 season. It’s looking like Cincinnati might wind up missing the playoffs this year, but that is hardly Bell’s fault alone. He guided the team to a winning record and an NL Wild Card Series appearance in 2020, and the team is currently 78-74 with 10 games left to play here in 2021. Bell told reporters Wednesday that he expects his entire coaching staff to return along with him for the 2022 campaign.