The Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell after six seasons on Sunday night.
The team announced the news hours after suffering a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It immediately named bench coach Freddie Benavides as interim manager for the final five games of the season.
“David has brought the kind of stability we needed to our locker room over the past few seasons. We felt a change was necessary to move the team forward. We have not had the success we hoped for and we need to start focusing on 2025,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said in a statement.
With one week left in the season, the Reds are 76-81 and sit in fourth place in the National League Central, 13 1/2 games out of the lead.
Bell, 52, was hired by the Reds in October 2018. He has a 409-456 record in six seasons.
Under Bell’s tutelage, the Reds made the playoffs in 2020, during a season shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
