Cincinnati Reds fire coach David Bell

Bell received a contract extension last summer, but the Reds had a disappointing 2024 season and missed the playoffs. The goal was to win the division, but the Reds have a 76-81 record entering the final week of the season.

In the last week of the season, coach Freddie Benavides will step in as interim coach.

“David has provided us with the stability we needed in our clubhouse over the past few seasons,” Nick Krall, Reds president of baseball operations, said in a statement. “We felt a change was needed to move the major league team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected and must focus on 2025.”

Bell joined the Reds for the 2019 season and posted a 405-456 record over the last six seasons. He led the Reds through COVID, managed a playoff team in 2020 and received his first of two contract extensions with the Reds in 2021.

In 2022, the Reds lost 100 games and had to completely rebuild. The Reds broke through in 2023 and were in the playoff race until the final weekend of the season. Bell received a contract extension last July as the young core impressed, but that momentum did not carry into 2024.