CINCINNATI — To say that the Cincinnati Reds are disappointing at the All-Star break feels somewhat generous. With Sunday’s 8-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs, the Reds enter it with a 43-52 record.That record is bad, for sure. But the team’s play is seemingly worse because the Reds have just been boring — the promise of 2023 and the playoff tease of 2025 are distant memories from the meandering and mediocre 2026.“Our record certainly isn’t anywhere near what we want it to be, and we know that,” manager Terry Francona said following Sunday’s loss. “It’s a good group and they play hard and they’re exhausted. This (break) will be good for them. We’ll come out Friday night and have a little workout and get right back at it.”Entering the break, the Reds are 15.5 games behind the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and eight behind the Miami Marlins for the third wild-card spot. There are five teams ahead of the Reds and behind the Marlins for that final wild-card spot.Elly De La Cruz and the Reds have lost the once-electric vibe that energized Cincinnati fans. (Katie Stratman / Imagn Images)Bad and boringIn 2023, the Reds were like their young superstar, Elly De La Cruz — electric.That was the word used over and over, and it wasn’t just De La Cruz. The Reds were a young, dynamic team. De La Cruz was lightning in a bottle, still raw, but the type of player who you just couldn’t take your eyes off. Matt McLain was maybe the team’s best player. Every time one of the Reds got on base or a ball was put in play, it seemed like they were a threat to score.The 2023 Reds weren’t quite good enough to make it to the playoffs, but they were exciting, fun and promised a bright future. Now, with so many of the same players, this team is stagnant. Cincinnati has gone acoustic and the team’s offense is in its unplugged era.Under then-manager David Bell, the Reds pushed the action, almost daring the other team to make a mistake and shaking off any out on the bases as a worthy gamble. Yes, that led to outs on the bases — the Reds led the league in outs made on the bases in 2023 (69) and 2024 (66) — but it also led to more runs scored. The Reds led baseball with 18 baserunning runs, according to Major League Baseball’s StatCast. The 2026 Reds have just two baserunning runs, 13th in baseball.In each of the previous three seasons, 31 percent of the Reds’ runners to reach base scored. This year it’s 27 percent, 28th in baseball. After ranking in the top 10 in each of the previous two seasons in extra bases taken percentage, the Reds’ 40 percent so far in 2026 is 22nd.This version of the Reds is getting 48.1 percent of its 395 runs driven in on home runs. Last season it was 37.7 percent and it was 40.6 percent in 2023. This year the league average entering Sunday’s games was 41.2 percent.RISP mythAfter Saturday night’s loss to the Cubs, Francona was asked once again about his team’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position, an understandable question when the team had 11 hits and was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.Francona’s response was similar to the one he’s given time and time again.“When you don’t have a ton of opportunities, if you don’t cash in, it becomes more glaring,” he said.What Francona was trying to say — without coming out and saying it — was that the team’s hitting has stunk with runners in scoring position, with runners not in scoring position and with no runners on. The team’s hitting stinks.The difference between the team’s overall .229 batting average and its .218 batting average with runners in scoring position is the difference between the stench of a bag of trash left in the summer sun for six days versus that same bag left out for a week. One may stink a little less, but both are putrid.Pitching depth isn’t enoughComing into the season, the team’s starting pitching was supposed to be the strength. It’s been better than the offense, but that’s damning with faint praise.Reds starters have an ERA of 4.43, 20th in Major League Baseball.If anything, this season has highlighted that starting pitching depth is a necessity in modern baseball. The Reds opened spring training with eight pitchers competing for five spots, broke camp with six starters for five spots and then opened the season with five starters.Half of the eight starters — Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Brandon Williamson and Rhett Lowder — have spent time on the IL. Greene has made just two starts and Lodolo was placed on the IL Sunday for the second time this season — the blister issue that he had to begin the season. Since Lowder’s return from the IL, he’s pitched out of the bullpen, but he’ll open the second half in the rotation in Lodolo’s place.Andrew Abbott gave up four runs in four innings in a no-decision, finishing the first half with a 4.11 ERA a year after being named an All-Star.The Reds do have two front-line starters in Greene and first-time All-Star Chase Burns who would be formidable in a playoff series, but if the team can’t get to the postseason, it’s moot.What’s next?Change for change’s sake is never the answer, but neither is staying the course on a road that is clearly leading nowhere.With the draft completed and the trade deadline looming, tough decisions have to be made. Coming out of the break, this team is no longer about the 2026 season — that ship has sailed. It must be about identifying which players are big-league caliber players and which ones will be around for the next playoff team.As for 2026, the Reds have 67 games remaining after the break and their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .529, the second toughest schedule behind the Mets.“What we’re doing is not working; it’s not good enough,” closer Emilio Pagán said. “So hopefully we can mentally reset, come back in and — not start fresh because we’re not 0-0. We’re behind the eight-ball, but find some kind of momentum to play more consistently.”With seemingly nothing left to play for other than individual accomplishments, how is that done?“Keep showing up, keep working hard,” Pagán said. “The reality is it may or may not shift, but at the end of the day, this is our job. We’re professionals. So you have to show up, keep giving your best effort. That’s the absolute least you can do. We’re going to do that as a group and hopefully, we can get this thing going in the right direction.”