Is an extension on the horizon for Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell?

MILWAUKEE — With all the attention on the trade deadline and what the Cincinnati Reds might add for their unexpected pennant drive, a key part of their success this year might be easy to overlook.

But what comes next with manager David Bell in the next weeks or months might say as much about this team’s competitive future as what comes next with the roster in the next few days.

Bell, 50, is in the final year of a two-year extension he signed at the end of the 2021 season, and it’s hard to imagine ownership and the front office letting him go much longer without trying to make sure he’s around to take this team wherever it might go in general manager Nick Krall’s vision of sustainable competitiveness the next few years.

Not that Krall or Bell are willing to talk about the fifth-year manager’s status or any discussions or timelines related to such things.

But results this season offer a case to be made for the hometown manager’s long-term status with this group, if not some insight into what might come next.

Positive signs for Reds manager

“David’s done a great job this year,” Krall said. “He’s helped create a really good culture, starting in spring training and working through [now]. He’s been tremendous with the guys.

“I think David’s done a really good job with this group.”

Krall declined to offer anything more regarding intentions, much less a timeline.

But players with the experience to know the difference support the third-generation baseball man in the manager’s seat.

“I can’t say enough about his influence,” said catcher Luke Maile, who has played for six managers with five different big-league ballclubs, including highly regarded Terry Francona and Craig Counsell.

“Ultimately, no matter what team you’re on and probably any business or work environment it always starts at the top,” Maile said. “The employees are a reflection of leadership, and as it pertains to baseball, you’re going to be a reflection of your manager. And the way we’ve played this year, just in terms of the effort level and energy, you can’t help but give credit to a manager anytime that’s the case. And the flip side of that is true as well.”

Joey Votto, the tenured franchise icon, has played for five Reds managers, including future Hall of Famer Dusty Baker for seven seasons.

“David is by definition a players manager,” Votto said. “He likes building relationships with everybody. He views everyone equally. He treats everyone equally. There’s no favoritism. Whether you’re the star of the team or the 26th player on the team or a new callup, he treats you and make makes you feel the exact same way.

“That’s really important because championships are won as a collection, and he sends that message with his attitude and interactions.”

Certainly nothing’s more important than talent when it comes to that collective effort.

Managing personalities in a young MLB clubhouse

But Votto, like Maile, also credits Bell with managing such a young, diverse group of skillsets and personalities into the winning collection they’ve become this year.

“I can’t articulate it other than this is an environment where everyone feels supported. And challenged,” Votto said. "Everyone understands their role. And oftentimes that combination can lead to better results from the player. He’s been consistent about that.”

Bell’s players also caution anyone against believing that because he comes off as such nice guy, even soft-spoken, that he’s some kind of pushover or softy as a manager.

Anyone who watched him play as a hard-nosed infielder for 12 seasons in the majors – or who saw him erupt in the dugout Tuesday night over some questionable umpiring, including a confounding balk call on Andrew Abbott – probably knows otherwise.

“He’s an intense guy,” Maile said. “He’s about as nice of a human being as you’ll ever run into. But the intensity from the generations of baseball that he comes from is never going to go away. We see it from time to time. And when we seer it, it’s usually him sticking up for us or trying to go to bat for us when something doesn’t go our way out there.”

Maile emphasized it’s ultimately the players who control the game and the wins or losses.

“But especially for a young team,” Maile said, “when you have a guy who so passionately stands I your corner when you’re trying to play the game the right way I think that goes a long way.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell getting a contract extension?