Reds GM Krivsky fired

Reds GM Krivsky fired
BY PAUL DAUGHERTY AND JOHN FAY | PDAUGHERTY@ENQUIRER.COM, JFAY@ENQUIRER.COM

Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky has been fired less than three years after taking over the position, the Reds announced this morning.

He will be replaced by Walt Jocketty, who previously was the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and who came to Cincinnati in January as special adviser to Bob Castellini, president and CEO of the Reds.

Castellini said it was a difficult decision.

"(Krivsky) gave it his all. He's a good guy," Castellini said.

"We're not winning. We haven't started well. It was time."

Castellini announced that he has appointed Jocketty president of baseball operations and general manager.

The front office news was first reported by the Enquirer this morning. A press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The exact reasons for Krivsky's dismissal are not clear. Krivsky did make some deals with players that in retrospect did not work out.

For instance, the Reds are paying Mike Stanton $3.5 million not to pitch.

Juan Castro, who will make $975,000 this season, was designated for assignment on Monday. If the team can't trade him, they will have to pay him that amount.

Outfielder Ryan Freel, who has essentially become a fifth outfielder, will be paid $3 million this year and $4 million next year.

And outfielder Corey Patterson was signed during spring training - a no-risk move - until he made the team and was given a $3.5 million big-league contract. Now the Reds have to ride out the season with a struggling Patterson or pay to move him.

Krivsky was in a three-year contract that runs through the 2008 season.

He was hired on Feb. 9, 2006, replacing Dan O’Brien as the Reds general manager. He was the first general manager to be hired under the Reds ownership group led by Bob Castellini.

Krivsky, 53, previously had served as an assistant general manager with the Minnesota Twins, and almost named Reds general manager in 2003, when O’Brien got the nod instead.

The move to replace Krivsky with Jocketty comes 21 games into the 2008 season. The Reds are currently 9-12, and 5 ½ games out of first place in the National League Central.

Jocketty spent 13 years with the St. Louis Cardinals as vice president and general manager. Under his guidance, the club made seven playoff appearances and won the World Series in 2006.

He will be the team's fourth general manager in six years, an instability that has prevented them from setting a course. The Reds also have been through two owners, four managers and an interim manager during that span.

The uncertainty at the top has contributed to Cincinnati's worst slump in more than a half-century. The Reds haven't had a winning record since 2000, when Ken Griffey Jr. joined the team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report