Dick Williams: ‘All hands on deck’ in Reds front office

Nick Krall promoted to general manager

Nick Krall was careful to point out he’s not “taking over” in the Cincinnati Reds front office. He was promoted Thursday from assistant general manager to general manager, but it doesn’t change the basic structure.

Dick Williams is still in charge. He just longer has the title of general manager.

“It’s a collaborative process with Dick, who will still be president of baseball operations,” Krall said. “I will just have an increased responsibility in getting things done and working with all departments.”

The Reds announced the change before the start of a four-game series on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won their third straight game Thursday, beating the Dodgers 4-1. It's the team's first three-game winning streak of the season.

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At 11-27, the Reds still have the worst record in the National League but not the worst record in baseball. They have passed the Chicago White Sox (9-25) and Baltimore Orioles (10-27).

While the big story later this season will revolve around the search for a new manager, the restructuring of the front office could be just as important. Williams said it’s a busy time for a franchise in the middle of a rebuilding process.

“It’s been all hands on deck here,” Williams said. “It’s important that we focus on our operations, and we are doing everything we can to get the ship pointed in the right direction. I think we’ve had a really productive last couple years on the rebuilding front. You can see it start to translate to the major league level. This year, between all the activity we’re going to have around the major league team and all the activity we’re going to have behind the scenes, it just made sense to transition to this sort of structure, which has become increasingly common around the league.”

Krall, a native of Rossville, Pa., has been with the Reds for 16 seasons. He was hired in 2003 to oversee advance scouting preparation. He was promoted to assistant director of baseball operations in 2008. He became senior director of baseball operations in 2014 and assistant general manager in 2015.

Prospect update: Williams is optimistic top prospect Nick Senzel will return to action soon.

The Triple-A Louisville Bats placed Senzel on the seven-day disabled list Tuesday. The move was retroactive to Sunday. He has been suffering from vertigo, an illness that forced him out of action in late August last season.

When Senzel is symptom free, Williams said, he’ll be cleared for activity.

“I don’t want to misspeak on the medical treatment,” Williams said. “I’ll leave that to the doctors. I will say we are being very cautious with Nick. He’s had this before. We feel we’ve got a good treatment plan in place. We do think it’s realistic to expect to see him back on the field in fairly short order.”

Senzel, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, is hitting .271 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 22 games.

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