Brandon Phillips

Based on your general disposition, you see the Cincinnati Reds in one of the two following lights: They're a team at or floating around .500 with baseball's worst OBP and worst bullpen ERA, or they're a team at .500 and tied for the remaining wild-card slot.

History suggests Reds owner Bob Castellini will see the latter. He's a competitive soul, so long as the Reds can sniff a playoff spot, don't expect them to sell.

The Cincinnati Reds are getting no love.

In the most recent season outlook, Grantland writer Ben Lindbergh's NLC Preview uses a lot of data and makes mathematical projections, and not even the numbers are improving this team's outlook. In case you haven't got around to it, here's an excerpt on why we can expect the Reds to suck in 2015:

It's finally come to this, Cincinnati Reds fans. With virtually no hope remaining in what has been one of the more miserable, disappointing Reds seasons to date, we shift our focus to 2015. In Redsland, 2015 is all we have. Beyond that, very little is guaranteed. 

Anyone with even a fractional interest in this team understands where improvements need to be made.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who went hitless in his first game back from the disabled list Monday, needs just two more hits to reach 1,500 for his career.

After seven long weeks atop the Reds player power rankings, Johnny Cueto was officially lifted from the throne following a disastrous outing against the Washington Nationals. It was an odd sequence of events; the first two runs to cross the plate were unearned. By that time, Cueto had already been laboring, working nearly every full.

The New York Yankees were unsuccessful in keeping Robinson Cano, but you have to credit them for trying.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes first broke the news that the All-Star second baseman agreed to a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners. However, the Yankees tried an interesting tactic in order to help in the negotiations.

There hasn't been much action early on in the 2013 offseason by any team, and the Cincinnati Reds aren't likely to make much noise the rest of the winter. With most of the roster set, general manager Walt Jocketty will work on adding some finishing touches.

The Kansas City Royals enter the offseason with a few needs, and upgrading right field or second base ranks high on their list.

A reunion with Carlos Beltran, whom the team drafted in 1995, would certainly answer one of those needs.  A trade with the Cincinnati Reds for Brandon Phillips would address the other.  It appears that both of those options have been discussed.

The New York Yankees are preparing for life after Robinson Cano, or so it seems.

According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, the Yankees have made contact with the Cincinnati Reds about second baseman Brandon Phillips: