“We will bring championship baseball back to Cincinnati.”

Those words uttered by Reds owner Bob Castellini shortly after his group bought the team in 2006 will continue to go unfulfilled over the next couple of years after the Reds continued firesale at this deadline.

It’s acceptable to hold an ownership group accountable for failing to win consistently over the last two decades. On the other hand, it’s also fair to argue the Reds are doing the right thing.

Selling off Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle isn’t easy. Both were rotation mainstays and solid major league pitchers, but the Reds aren’t close to competing. They will lose 95-plus games with or without them this year and probably next year.

This was also a Reds farm system that was desperate for position player depth and they loaded up on bats during this deadline.

Noelvi Marte is a consensus top-20 prospect and has all the tools to be a middle-of-the-order bopper.

Edwin Arroyo is a super young and athletic shortstop that has torn the cover off the ball in A-ball.

Spencer Steer is a major league ready bat with a ton of positional flexibility.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand has hit 25 homers across two levels and might have the best chance to unseat Joey Votto at first base whenever he decides to retire.

That doesn’t mention others acquired in the Tyler Naquin and Brandon Drury deals. That’s a really good haul right there and it’s ok to be excited about all of those guys.

On the other hand, it’s deflating knowing the Reds won’t be competitive until 2024 at the earliest and that’s probably optimistic.

I sat through 2014-2019 of the “rebuild” and it was miserable. Reds fans had to watch the likes of Tim Adleman and John Lamb take the ball every fifth day. Jose Peraza, Billy Hamilton, and Scott Schebler were supposed to be a part of the next core to help the Reds get back to relevance.

The “rebuild” was botched in every way possible. They held on to Cueto and Leake too long. They traded Chapman when his value was in flux and in turn most of the prospects they received from those trades provided little value.

After a limited taste of success in 2020 and for about 100 games in 2021, next year will now mark eight seasons in the last ten years without the Reds being a real threat to make the postseason. Reds fans deserve better.

It’s also going to be fair to wonder how long this championship window might last. Who is to say it will only last 2 years before they trade India and Stephenson?

Nick Krall deserves credit for getting strong returns. But ownership has to commit to spending money to help the team when the time comes.

I’m optimistic about where the minor league system is, but I’m still skeptical that the Reds front office and ownership will work hand-in-hand to deliver on that promise to bring championship baseball back to Cincinnati.

Featured Image credit: Rob Thompson/St. Paul Saints)