The GM Change: What does it really mean?

I admit when the alert came across my phone today, I got pretty excited. Walt Jocketty was no longer the Reds General Manager. But when I read the team’s announcement and saw that Walt would still oversee the department, I postponed the delivery of the party hats.

Then when I read the story after the Reds press conference regarding the change, I cancelled them entirely.

Yes, Dick Williams is now the Reds GM and Jocketty is now the President of Baseball Operations, but according to the team, Jocketty will still have final say in player decisions this season. When the season ends—the end of his three-year deal with the team—he will turn full control over to Williams. Jocketty is working on a new deal that would make him a consultant to owner Bob Castellini after this season.

So what does all this mean? To me, it means that Jocketty just didn’t have it in him to do the day-to-day grind the Reds need in this offseason. This way, he can have the final say in personnel without doing the legwork.

Some of you may be wondering why the Reds didn’t just fire Jocketty. He certainly had it coming. But Bob C. was never going to do that because they’re too good of friends. This way, there’s some appeasing the fans since he’s not the GM anymore, but he didn’t have to be fired.

Of course, this move opens up a lot of questions. Where is Williams’ head as far as trading players like Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman? And if he does want to trade some of these marquee players, will Jocketty actually let him? What happens if the two butt heads? Does Jocketty get his way or does a third party (i.e. Bob C.) have to decide?

Things are starting to get interesting now, kids…

Photo: Dick Williams signs an autograph during the 2013 Reds Caravan stop in Ashland, Ky. Photo by Angela Henderson-Bentley