Cincinnati Reds fire manager David Bell

On Sunday night, the Cincinnati Reds fired manager 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.

Bench coach Freddie Benavides will fill in as the interim manager for the final week of the season.

"David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall 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 we need to begin focusing on 2025.”

Bell joined the Reds for the 2019 season and posted a 405-456 record over the last six seasons. He guided 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 went through a full 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 didn’t carry into 2024.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds fire manager David Bell