Who shoulders the blame for this latest bad Reds season?

CINCINNATI, OHIO - OCTOBER 07: Terry Francona ( center), the new Manager of the Cincinnati Reds talks to the media at Great American Ball Park on October 07, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nick Krall ,President of Baseball Operations sits to his left and Brad Meador , Senior Vice President & General Manager sits to his right. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Reds fans and fans across the country. The Cincinnati Reds salvaged what would have otherwise been a completely daft Monday yesterday, with Elly De La Cruz smacking the first walk-off hit of his burgeoning career to take down the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 in 10 innings. The Reds had lost the first game of the doubleheader earlier in the day, however, and that loss marked their third straight home loss after the drubbing given to them over the weekend by the Miami Marlins. They sat at just 59-65 on the season, and even after last night’s victory they sit 17 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and in last place in the National League Central division. The season went sideways in so many different directions. The bullpen injuries exposed a severe lack of depth at the upper levels of the minors, and so many of the ‘project’ arms they had hoped would step up simply haven’t been able to find an area code near the strike zone. Losing Hunter Greene for most of the season certainly didn’t help things, nor did watching Eugenio Suarez be lost for a month with a rhythm-sapping oblique strain. Players haven’t played very well, that’s obvious. But just how much of this latest disaster of a year is on them? How much falls on the future Hall of Fame manager who puts them in these situations? How much falls on a front office that went out and served them a hot plate of Ke’Bryan Hayes? Rece Hinds, Noelvi Marte, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand smashed the ball all over the place at AAA, yet none could make contact in the big leagues – is that a hitting coach problem? Do the Reds even have their director of pitching anymore? All of this, obviously, falls under the discretion of the ownership group, who has sat by for decades of losing without making any overhauls of any significance. This week we ask you – on whom does the blame mostly fall for this failed 2026 season? Let us know in the survey below! Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys: