Citing major league sources, Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Walt Jocketty is likely to return as the Cincinnati Reds General Manager in 2015.
Jocketty was hired by the Reds in 2008, first to the post of Special Advisor and then as General Manager after Wayne Krivsky was fired during the first month of the 2008 season. The Reds have reached post-season series twice in Jocketty’s tenure (2010, 2012) for the first time since 1995. They have yet to win a post-season series, however.
Jocketty’s contract with the Reds expires in a few weeks. Speculation had arisen, possibly fueled by the general manager’s low profile during the Reds recent struggles, that he might join Tony LaRussa again with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The next Reds GM faces difficult decisions for the 2015 season and beyond. One view is the Reds were a competitive team this year, minus the injuries and only tinkering is necessary in the off-season. A different view is that the Reds need a drastic overhaul. A middle-ground might see the Reds trading one of their front-line starting pitchers for a bat.
One way or another, you’d also expect the organization to begin to sort out the futures of Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos and Mike Leake, all of whom could become free agents in 2016.