Reds' Phil Castellini Rips Fans Asking Him To Sell The Team

We've all heard fans of just about every team ask their owner to sell the franchise to someone more capable. Well, we finally received a reply from Reds president and COO Phil Castellini, and let's just say he's calling his own fan base's bluff.

"Where you gonna go? Let's start there," Castellini said on the Scott Sloan & Mo Egger show with iHeartRadio. "Sell the team to who? What would you do with this team to have it be more profitable? It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. So, be careful what you ask for."

Dangerous words coming from someone this prominent in an organization. We probably would advise against this approach.

There's quite a bit wrong with his comments regarding unhappy fans. Fans don't really care who you sell to as long as the new owner cares about winning.

They also don't always think that "profitable" moves are best for the organization long term. Phil Castellini just came out and asked fans what they would do to improve profitability when that shouldn't be his focus. Sure, he can secretly hold profits as his personal priority, but announcing that mission publicly to the fan base is a mistake.

And lastly, his mention of relocating the team comes across as a threat when his job as owner is to build a winner while maintaining a steady profit margin. Castellini is letting his emotions get the best of him here, and it sounds like he wants a pat on the back for keeping the team in Ohio.

Asking the fan base what they'd do to make the team more profitable can easily be rebutted by alluding to winning teams being profitable. Losers don't make money in sports except those who play in New York or L.A., like the Knicks and Lakers.

A simple way Phil Castellini can make the Reds more profitable is to build a winner. This means hiring a competent general manager, drafting correctly, and acquiring proper assets via free agency. After all, free agency signings usually require approval from a man in Phil Castellini's position. Trading former All-Stars Jesse Winker, Sonny Gray and Eugenio Suarez for a slew of prospects isn't going to bring fans to the ballpark, thus diminishing fan attendance and ultimately profits. You can't win if you're turning a decent team in 2021 into sellers in the offseason.

Moving the team, however, is a topic all owners should stay away from. Cincinnati Reds fans have loved this team since Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Barry Larkin were lacing 'em up. So pretending the Reds would be best off moving for profits is objectively a bad move. Cincy loves a winner, just like any other fan base, and while the team was expected by many in baseball to take steps forward in the National League Central, they sold. Pretty much everyone except Joey Votto and ace Luis Castillo were shipped out of town.

Not much for fans to get excited about except newly arrived flame thrower Hunter Greene. You can't ask fans what they'd do to make the team more profitable when the most exciting player on the roster is a 22-year-old who just made his first start this past Sunday. If Phil Castellini doesn't want to be in Cincinnati, he should sell the team to an owner who does. Any buyer looking to stay wouldn't say a word about playing in a larger market. He'd focus on what he can control.