The Cincinnati Reds have done this to themselves.
You’ll recall that they spent the bulk of the 2022 regular season floundering, leaking water from the self-imposed rebuild that began the prior year, losing games hand over fist as the active roster they’d put together for a 2020 run was torn to pieces. They were held afloat by a pitching staff that was already devoid of Sonny Gray, a star pitcher who’d been dealt before the season in a deal that, in hindsight, now seems a little light on return.
A pitcher with a great track record controlled cheaply for more than just a rental season?