Why the Reds are primed to be a 60-game sleeper

The Cincinnati Reds have endured six straight losing seasons. They haven't won a playoff series in 25 years. They haven't won a World Series in 30 years. Yet Cincinnati enters the shortened 60-game season as a possible sleeper to break a few of those droughts. 

Now is the time for 35-year-old first baseman and potential Hall of Famer Joey Votto to lead that run.  

"It looks like guys are ready and motivated," Votto told the Dayton Daily News on July 4. "It seems like a group of guys who flipped the switch and they have it." 

MORE: World Series odds for 2020

Votto has led the NL in on-base percentage seven times in his career, but last season was just the second time in the past 11 seasons that his OBP number dipped below .400. He's still a formidable hitter, however, and the Reds have built perhaps their best team in years around him.  

Better than the teams that lost the NLDS in 2010 and 2012 and the wild card in 2013. Here are the reasons why:  

Offseason moves

Cincinnati owner Bob Castellini and GM Nick Krall spent money in the offseason, and those additions should add depth to a young-and-talented roster for second-year manager David Bell. Among those moves:  

— A four-year deal for Mike Moustakas, who averaged 33 homers the past four seasons with the Royals and Brewers.  

— A four-year deal for Nick Castellanos, who hit .289 with 27 homers and 73 RBIs between the Tigers and Cubs.  

— A two-year deal for Wade Miley, who should be a back-end starter in a solid rotation.  

— A three-year deal for Shogo Akiyama, a 32-year-old outfielder who hit .300 in Japan.  

Cincinnati also added bullpen depth with a one-year deal for Pedro Strop from the rival Cubs. That should add to the good pieces in place.  

More power 

Moustakas and Castellanos add to what should be a heavy-hitting lineup led by Eugenio Suarez, who hit 49 homers with 103 RBIs in 2019. Outfielder Aristides Aquino hit 19 homers in 56 games, and Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker combined for 28 homers and have break-through potential.  

The Reds will have added flexibility in the lineup with the addition of the designated hitter in 2020. 

Cincinnati was below league average in team slugging and on-base percentage last season, but that should change in 2020.  

Short-season rotation

Look at the first-half splits last season for Luis Castillo (8-3, 2.29), Sonny Gray (8-3, 3.05) and Trevor Bauer (8-6, 3.61). Granted, Bauer was in Cleveland and struggled after being traded, but those three arms form a playoff-caliber trio that could carry a 60-game run.  

Miley will add to that, and Anthony DeSclafani and Tyler Mahle can contribute on the back end of the rotation.  

A better bullpen

Strop was a minor addition, but the bullpen of Michael Lorenzen, Craig Stephenson and Amir Garrett is intact around closer Raisel Iglesias. He had a 4.16 ERA last season, but he still managed to convert 34 of 40 saves. Iglesias converted 87.5 percent of the save opportunities for his career heading into the season.   

These guys aren't the "Nasty Boys" by any stretch, but the bullpen is good enough for a short season.  

The schedule breaks nicely. Here's a look at Cincinati's schedule by opponent this season.  

The Reds have 13 cross-over games with AL Central teams that had a below .500 record in 2019, in addition to 10 games against the lowly Pirates.  

It still comes down to competing with the Cardinals, Brewers and Cubs in an always-crowded division, but this Reds team is best equipped to do it now. 

This might be the year to break those droughts.