The 2025 Reds Caravan made a stop at the Limestone Center on Friday, January 24. From left, Jose Trevino, Alfredo Duno, Terry Francona, Jim Day, Nick Krall and Jacob Hurtubise. (Photo courtesy of Travis Scaggs/WFTM Radio)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
After a disappointing 77-85 season in 2024, the Cincinnati Reds are less than a month away from their first Cactus League contest and last Friday morning the annual Reds Caravan made a stop in Maysville, spreading the optimism for a better 2025.
Gathering with media and invited guests at the Limestone Center, representatives from the Reds mingled with guests, signed autographs, and grabbed a meal before boarding the bus with an eventual destination of Louisville Slugger Field.
The Reds have made a number of offseason moves to their roster but no doubt their most important move was the hiring of two-time World Series champion manager Terry “Tito” Francona to take over for the departed David Bell. Francona talked about the the upcoming season in an interview with The Defender.
“When I was talking to the Reds, it just became evident really quick that we got along, that we saw things the same way, it was comfortable,” said the new Reds manager. “The youth of this organization makes me think that the team’s better days are ahead and not behind and that excited me.”
“Nobody knows what lies ahead and that’s part of the fun of the journey. We are going to work and I will spend all of my energy trying to make sure that our guys spend all their energy just trying to play the game right. That’s the best we can do because you don’t know what can happen. You just play the game right.”
Also at the Maysville stop was Reds’ President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall, who is also optimistic about the 2025 campaign and still might have some roster moves in the making before all is said and done.
“I’m excited and it starts with Tito coming in,” said Krall. “I think we’re excited with some of the moves we made and we still have three weeks of the offseason left. I can’t wait to get ready and see where these guys are and what adjustments we might need to make to move forward.”
When asked if there were any more possible roster moves, Krall replied, “We’re always working to make our club better every day and we’ll see what happens. We’ve talked to alot of different guys in a lot of different ways and I think we are just trying to figure out if there’s a way to continue to add to our roster. I’m excited about the guys that we have, we’ve got some really talented players and have the chance to step forward this year and I’m really excited to see what happens.”
Also part of the Caravan’s Maysville stop was long-time TV broadcaster Jim Day, who had high praise for the new manager hire.
“Optimism starts at the top with Terry Francona,” Day said. “He was the best hire they could have made on the planet. If you were going to list everyone that was available to possibly manage a major league team, I would have put Terry Francon as a class of one. Just him leading this culture and this organization as a guy that has been there and done that, there would be optimism if he was coaching a high school team, let alone a major league team. It starts right there and then you talk about the young nucleus. Terry Francona is not going to come out of retirement if he didn’t think the team had a chance to win. I think he looks at this team and feels like they are ready to take off so I don’ think there’s anything but excitement for the Reds in 2025.”
Joining Francona, Krall and Day on the Maysville stop were catcher Jose Trevino (obtained from the Yankees), outfielder Jacon Hurtubise, 19-year old catching prospect Alfredo Duno, and popular former Red Corky Miller.
The Reds will begin Cactus League play on Saturday, February 22 in split-squad action with one game at Goodyear Ballpark against the Cleveland Guardians and another game on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers.
