Are the Reds really trying to lose 100 games?

On Tuesday, two days after he officially returned from Tommy John surgery, pitcher Homer Bailey was not happy that his Cincinnati Reds decided to trade Jay Bruce. Bailey told ESPN.com exactly what he thought about it.

“I think I see the plan,” veteran pitcher Homer Bailey told ESPN.com. “They talked about us losing 100 games at the beginning of the year, and s—, we’re damn sure trying, aren’t we?”

Those are pretty strong comments from a guy who, due to injury, hasn’t been able to contribute to the team since early 2015. Bailey went on to say that any rebuild should have centered around Bruce. He thinks the Reds have let go of an impact player who could help them in the future, and it’s made them a lot worse in the present.

You can watch the Reds — who haven’t lost 100 games yet! — take on the St. Louis Cardinals for free! Why? Because it’s Yahoo Sports’ MLB Free Game of the Day, of course! You can watch it on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home or this very post. First pitch is at 12:35 p.m. ET. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

Bailey’s comment about how the Reds are “trying” to lose 100 games isn’t really about them trying to do that at all. He’s frustrated with how the team has played, and that they’re dealing players to strengthen their rebuild. Bailey was a pretty good pitcher and he’s been out of action for a year and a half. Getting back on the mound was probably great for him, but less great was coming back to this particular Reds team. They’re 22.5 games out of first place and just traded an important player. Bailey probably expected more, and he was just venting his (totally understandable) frustration.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

Of course, it’s entirely possible that the Reds could actually lose 100 games. They’re 43-63 with 56 games left to play. To lose 100 games, they’d need to go 19-37 the rest of the way (which is a .339 winning percentage). Looking at their schedule, it could definitely happen. They face the Chicago Cubs six times in September, and the Cardinals seven times. They have losing records against both those teams. So yeah, 100 losses is definitely in reach.

But trading a player like Jay Bruce doesn’t mean that the Reds are trying to lose. Part of the business of baseball is recognizing the reality of a team’s situation and trying to make the future better. That’s what trading Bruce was all about. And despite trading Bruce, Todd Frazier, Aroldis Chapman, and Johnny Cueto over the past year or so, there’s one thing that Reds fans — and Homer Bailey — can cling to: the Reds have not dealt Joey Votto. They haven’t even tried. Yes, he has a long and expensive contract, but for a player as consistently productive and amazing as Joey Votto, a lot of teams would take that on. The Reds want Votto on their next championship team, and since his contract is up in 2024, they think they’ve got time to make that happen.

What the Reds are trying to do is rebuild their team, and losing 100 games is something that can happen during that process. That doesn’t mean that losing a lot is something that any team sets out to do. A rebuild is long and painful, but it can lead a team to the promised land of playoffs and parades. Homer Bailey just has the misfortune of returning right in the middle of it. If he can be patient, he can help the team get to the other side.