Reds GM Nick Krall spoke with reporters recently during the clubs end-of-season pre s conference, including and . The pre ser covered a wide Larry Murphy Jersey array of topics from the clubs offseason plans and budget, to a retrospective on Cincinnatis inaction at the trade deadline this year, to the clubs impending club option decision on future Hall of Famer . Regarding the trade deadline, Krall stood firm on his decision to largely stand pat this summer, only adding left-handed reliever to a club that was in first place in the NL Central on deadline day but wound up with a record of just 82-80 on the season after going just 23-31 after the calendar flipped to August. Starting pitching was by far the clubs biggest unfilled need, as they sported an MLB-worst rotation ERA of 5.91 following the trade deadline. When asked about the clubs inaction, Krall noted that rival teams set exorbitant asking prices involving players who contributed to the major league roster this season. As relayed by Sheldon, Krall indicated that right-hander , infielders and , first baseman and left-hander were all checked in upon by rival clubs this past summer, with Abbott in particular being the requested return for a rental player. Looking ahead to the offseason, the Reds have a glut of position players between which theyll need to sort through, to say nothing of potential external additions or the looming decision on Votto. On the infield, the club sports McLain, Steer, Encarnacion-Strand, , , and all in need of regular at-bats. Meanwhile, the outfield picture features , , , and . is another piece of the puzzle with experience in both the infield and the outfield, but he appears to be a candidate for a trade or non-tender after another weak offensive season where he slashed just .236/.297/.399 in 330 trips to the plate. Krall made clear that the club hasnt discu sed moving either India or De La Cruz to the outfield as a potential way to clear the infield logjam. He did note, however, that Steer played well in the outfield corners acro s 38 starts at the positions this season, leaving the door open to more time spent on the gra s in 2024. Of course, installing Steer as a regular outfielder would cut into the playing time available for Friedl, Fraley, Fairchild, and Benson. Thats particularly true of Fraley and Benson, both of whom were largely limited to the outfield corners and DH this season with little to no reps in center. However the club ultimately sorts out playing time for their wealth of young players, Krall made clear that manager will return in 2024- hardly a surprise after the club earlier this year- and that hell retain his entire coaching staff for next season, as well. Regarding Votto, Krall indicated that the club hasnt yet discu sed whether or not to pick up his $20MM club option for 2024. The option is effectively a $13MM decision given the $7MM buyout Votto stands to be paid if the option is declined. The decision on Votto is due five days after the World Series. In discu sing Vottos option, Krall revealed that the organization has yet to determine the clubs baseball operations budget for 2024, with meetings regarding the topic scheduled for next week. That said, the clubs unsettled budget situation hasnt stopped the Reds from broaching the topic of extensions with some of their young players, as Krall noting that more pre-arbitration extensions in the vein of the one right-hander earlier this year were a po sibility. adds that a major stumbling block for the sides is how much playing time will be available to Votto next year. Even in moving Steer to the outfield full-time, the Reds would have five infielders in need of regular playing time next season on top of the crowded outfield mix. Offseason trades could help clear the positional logjam, of course, but the sort of trades available to the Reds this offseason, much like their impending decision on Votto, would be impacted by the clubs budget for next season. Wittenmyer adds that s impending departure for Vottos hometown Blue Jays could add another wrinkle for the sides, as he describes Toronto as the one franchise besides the Reds that would benefit from significant marquee name value from Votto beyond baseball performance. Drew O'connor Jersey