CINCINNATI — Hope springs eternal, but Marty Brennaman is a realist.
The former Reds broadcaster didn't mince words while talking about his expectations for the season at the Opening Day Parade. WCPO's Evan Millward asked Brennaman what he made of this year, as Cincinnati comes off a 100-loss season.
"I think people have to realize this is still a season in which this club is going to try to mature their young players — they're not going to be a team that's going to win the division, anybody that thinks they are (is) delusional," Brennaman said while participating in the parade.
He called this season "important" for the Reds as they evaluate their young stars. This is just opening day starter Hunter Greene's second big-league season. Saturday's starting pitcher, Nick Lodolo, also made his debut last season, as did Graham Ashcraft, Sunday's starter. Several other players on the active roster are also under the age of 25 with limited experience.
In addition to some debuts, Cincinnati shipped off a lot of its top talent last season. The Reds sent ace Luis Castillo to Seattle for three of the Mariners' top five prospects. They also got outfielder Jake Fraley and three pitching prospects from the Mariners for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suárez. Just before the trade deadline, Spencer Steer joined the Reds along with three other prospects.
The Reds have four of the top 100 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. MLB writers ranked Cincinnati's farm system fifth-best ahead of this season.
"All this young talent that they've acquired when they traded off veteran players are kids that are gonna be good big-league ballplayers, and we all have to be patient with the way they mature," Brennaman said.
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During spring training, Reds players spoke about making sure the team didn't repeat its abysmal 2022 run. Joey Votto, who will start the season on the injured list as he works to come back from rotator cuff surgery, said he believes the team "will be in a much better place than in previous years."
Still, Brennaman said fans shouldn't get their hopes up.
"Every year, people think we have a chance," said Brennaman. "It would take divine intervention for this club to be an impact player in this division in 2023 — and that's not a negative, that's just a realistic look at this ball club in the period they are in and the process that has to go forward in order for them to get where they want to be down the road."
Watch the entire Reds Opening Day Parade here.
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