Tim Naehring is a Cincinnati native. He was born in Cincinnati in 1967 and attended LaSalle High School on Cincinnati’s famed “West Side”. Tim not only attended high school in his hometown but also attended college near home. He attended Miami University of Ohio, where he played baseball for the Redhawks. In 1988, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round of the MLB Draft. He played for eight years and had a solid MLB career with Boston until it abruptly ended due to injury. After his playing career, he was hired by then-Reds general manager Jim Bowden to be a scout in the minors. After the new regime cleaned house in 2007, Tim moved on to New York with the Yankees. He’s been there ever since. With Dick Williams stepping down from his position with the Cincinnati Reds, they should heavily consider bringing Tim back home.
Tim Naehring: The Superscout
Back in the day, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had a right-hand man, or a go-to guy per se. That man’s name was Gene “Stick” Michael. He was a former major leaguer and served as one of Steinbrunner’s most trusted front office personnel. Now current Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has his Stick Michael in Tim. Although Cashman is a big analytics man, he trusts Naehring enough to pursue his opinion on most of his decisions. Tim Naehring is the one who helped Cashman find and decide to trade for shortstop Didi Gregorius. After that, Naehring also was deployed into the field to help find a way to land Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller.
Tim Naehring can take the Reds to new heights. His eye for talent has been absolutely magnificent, and he has a very no-nonsense approach. For a team that is right on the cusp of winning, Naehring seems like a perfect fit who can push them over the edge. With his experience in trades where the Yankees have come out on top, he can bring that expertise to the Reds, where they have had a bevy of terrible trades.
Comparing the Trades
Compare the history of a few trades between both the Yankees and Reds over the last decade. When the Reds decided to deal Chapman in 2015, they decided on the Yankees. In return for Chapman, the Reds got four minor leaguers, none of whom are still in baseball today. The only notable piece remaining from that deal is Caleb Cotham, who is a pitching coach in the Reds system. When the Yankees decided to trade for Didi Gregorius, they only had to deal one player, Shane Greene. The Detroit Tigers, the third team in that trade, gave up more than either the Yankees or Diamondbacks received in order to make the deal work. Gregorius, despite injury, posted a 14.8 WAR over five years with the Yanks.
There is one common denominator in all of these trades. Tim Naehring had his hands all over both of them for the Yankees. He’s consistently helped the Yankees ease their way back into the contenders’ circle, where they naturally belong.
Final Thoughts
The Reds now have a huge vacancy in their front office. They are coming off their first playoff appearance in seven years and don’t want to go away any time soon. In order to keep the winning, they’re going to have to make winning moves. It all starts with the front office, so why not try and bring the hometown guy back home? He could be instrumental in bringing his hometown franchise its first World Series title since he was a rookie in the league himself. The Reds need help, and that help is Superscout Tim Naehring.
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