Cincinnati Reds' best-case and worst-case scenarios for 2024 season

Feb 27, 2024; Mesa, Arizona, USA;  Cincinnati Reds right fielder Will Benson (30) triples in the
Feb 27, 2024; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Reds right fielder Will Benson (30) triples in the | Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
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Most realistic scenario for 2024 Cincinnati Reds

In baseball, youthful talent is often a perilous virtue. That’s especially true when it’s mixed with questionable pitching. The 2024 Reds have both commodities in abundance.

The Marte loss is unsettling, and the absence of a proven rotation has to raise questions.

Still, forced to guess which will prevail, it’s hard to go against all that aggressive young talent. The absence of a dominant NL Central team makes Cincinnati’s prospects even more enticing.

The Reds won 82 games with virtually the same cast one season ago. A year older and wiser, it’s tantalizing to imagine the Reds improving by five to eight games, which gives them an outside shot at 90 wins…and, by extension, a division title.

It would be the franchise’s first since 2012. Young talent never comes with a guarantee, but there is realistic reason for hope.

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