Reds president of operations, Dick Williams, resigns

The Reds are in a pretty precarious position as a franchise. After seeming like they were everyone’s dark horse pick to compete in the NL Central the last couple of years, they finally made the playoffs in 2020 but even then it felt like they underperformed. Trevor Bauer was great but seems destined to head elsewhere in free agency, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray will be around for a few years but the rotation drops off after that, and the lineup that was once their strength led by Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez is getting older and dropped off a LOT in 2020 in terms of their production.

That is a tough needle to thread for any franchise...trying to keep a borderline contender together while using limited resources to also make upgrades to the roster while significant dollars are being spent on guys with diminishing returns. Unfortunately for the Reds, they will now have to find someone else to help continue that process.

It does seem that Reds president of operations Dick Williams’ decision to step away has less to do with any professional shortcomings and more to do with being able to spend more time with his family and work with his family on an outside business venture. However, going into a key offseason for the franchise with the Cubs and Brewers seemingly on the decline and the Cardinals looking very beatable, it is just that much tougher now that the team will have to deal with front office turnover near the highest levels.