The Cincinnati Reds have a new controlling owner – Phil Castellini

Today there was both new and old news about the Cincinnati Reds and their ownership. Back in the summer of 2024 Phil Castellini was named as team president and CEO. Bob Castellini, Phil’s father, remained in charge as the principal owner and managing partner. Over the winter, according to Rob Manfred at a press conference on Thursday, the controlling ownership of the Reds was approved with Phil Castellini taking over for Bob Castellini. This was first reported by the Associated Press.

What all of it means isn’t entirely clear. When the initial move was announced in 2024 the Reds statement noted the following:

President and Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini has been promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Doug Healy has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer /Chief Financial Officer.

With these moves, Bob Castellini retains control and managerial responsibility over all business and baseball operations; Phil Castellini, Doug Healy and President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall will continue to report to Mr. Castellini.

The Cincinnati Reds statement noted that Bob Castellini was still in charge and the move at the time sounded much more like people just getting fancy new titles that gave them raises. Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 got a statement from the team in Goodyear saying this on Thursday night:

That was part of MLB protocols associated with the organizational changes the Reds announced in July of 2024 naming Phil president and CEO, and Doug Healy as COO and CFO.

There seems to be some slight disconnect between the two statements here. Two years ago the Reds were saying that Bob Castellini was still in charge and that Phil and everyone else was still reporting to him. The media guide that was released last season has Bob listed as the principal owner and managing partner. He is the first person in the media guide, followed by W. Joseph Williams Jr. (chairman/owner) and Thomas L. Williams (vice chairman/owner) before we get to Phil Castellini as the president and CEO.

Today Major League Baseball told the world that Phil Castellini is now viewed by them as the controlling owner of the Cincinnati Reds, taking over from his father. But the Reds say that this is the same news from 2024 but that it was just approved through the voting protocols of Major League Baseball.

So the question here is which is it? Is Phil Castellini the owner of the Reds now, or is Bob? And if it’s not Bob and it is Phil, is he still reporting to Bob as was stated by the team in July of 2024 when they made this move to promote Phil to the position of president and CEO? Would the man named “controlling owner” report to someone else in the organization? That seems a bit strange.

Someone in the Castellini family is still in charge at the very top of the organization. Whether it’s Bob or his son Phil seems to be a little confusing based on what the team has said over the last two years. It would not be surprising if the younger of the Castellini’s has indeed taken over. Bob is 84-years-old and while there’s no news about his health or condition, that’s also an age in which most people are through with working. Even people who are very, very rich and hold “office jobs”.