The Cincinnati Reds fired coach David Bell on Sunday with five games left in a disappointing season that began with the Reds as playoff contenders and will end with them missing the playoffs for the tenth year in a row.

Bell, 52, received a three-year contract extension in July 2023 after the Reds made a surprise return to the league in 2022 following a 100-loss season. With an exciting young core that included shortstop Elly De La Cruz and a roster of talented pitchers, the Reds were expected to compete for the National League Central title.

Instead, they faltered, and injuries and poor performances led to a 76-81 result and fourth place.

“David has provided the stability we needed in our clubhouse over the past few seasons,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said in a statement. “We felt a change was needed to move the major league team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected and must focus on 2025.”

Bell, the son of longtime Reds star Buddy Bell, was hired in 2019. His best season was 2020, when the Reds had a 31-29 record and made the COVID-extended postseason, where they were knocked out in the first round by Atlanta.

Aside from De La Cruz – who developed into one of baseball’s best players in his first full season – and the emergence of starter Hunter Greene as an ace, the Reds took several steps backward.

Second baseman Matt McLain missed the season due to shoulder and rib injuries. Third baseman Noelvi Marte was suspended for 80 games for using performance-enhancing drugs. First baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand only played in 29 games. And most recently, almost the entire Reds rotation – Greene, left-handers Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, and right-hander Graham Ashcraft – was on the injured list.

Bench coach Freddie Benavides will serve as Cincinnati’s interim manager. Possible replacements for Bell include Skip Schumaker, who is expected to leave the Miami Marlins at the end of the season; David Ross, the former Chicago Cubs manager who spent three seasons as a catcher with the Reds; and Eduardo Perez, the ESPN analyst and former Cincinnati first baseman, the son of Reds legend Tony Perez.