Cincinnati Reds team president Phil Castellini has issued an apology to Reds fans after he responded to unhappy fans by warning them “be careful what you ask for”, essentially telling them they need to accept the current shape of the roster.
Prior to the Reds home opener on Tuesday, Castellini made an appearance on WLW radio and was asked why a Reds fan should keep their trust in him following an offseason that saw a rip down of the talent on the roster. His response was not met with much favor:
“Well, where are you going to go? Let’s start there. I mean, sell the team to who?” Castellini said (h/t ESPN). “That’s the other thing — you want to have this debate? If you want to look at what would you do with this team to have it be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists? It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else.
“And so be careful what you ask for. I think we’re doing the best we can do with the resources that we have. We’re no more pleased with the results than the fans. I’m not sitting here saying anybody should be happy. I’m not polishing trophies in the office right now, and that’s what we’re here to do. But the bottom line is — and I do think we’ve had to shift the discipline. We’ve tried a lot of things that didn’t work. And they came this close to working and didn’t. Nobody’s got to tell me it didn’t work. So I think we’ve learned from those things. And trust me, [general manager] Nick [Krall], he is a guy on a mission. And he is a bull in a china shop that has his way to do it and that way’s to grow your own and he’s doing just that.”
Following the Reds loss to the Cleveland Guardians, Castellini issued the following statement:
“I apologize to Reds fans and regret the comments that I made earlier today,” he stated. “We love this city, we love this team and we love our fans. I understand how our fans feel and I am sorry.”
