Reds MLB trade deadline primer: 3 early storylines to watch

New York Times

6 days ago

Two years ago, the Cincinnati Reds entered the trade deadline as a playoff contender, but one with an obvious need for starting pitching. Freshly stocked with prospects from the previous year's fire sale, they added a left-hander in the bullpen. And that was it.
Sam Moll, the lefty in question, was fantastic for the Reds that season, allowing just two earned runs over 25 appearances after the trade. Joe Boyle, the prospect sent to the then-Oakland Athletics, made his big-league debut that season, starting three games for the A's.
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Then-Reds manager David Bell had to piece together a rotation with minor-league call-ups, openers and Brett Kennedy, who began the year with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Kennedy started two games in August, one against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who finished as the third wild-card team and went on to the World Series. The Diamondbacks lost in the World Series to a team that did go out and get a starter at the deadline: the Texas Rangers, who traded for Jordan Montgomery.
Last season, the Reds were clearly sellers but didn't do much on that front, either. Their biggest deal was sending right-hander Frankie Montas to the Milwaukee Brewers for two players, neither of whom is still with the organization.
Neither of those trade deadlines had much action for the Reds, and it might not be that different of a story in 2025.
The Reds will have a good look at how far they have to go to measure up with the best in baseball after this weekend's series in Detroit against the Tigers, the top team in baseball, according to The Athletic's power rankings.
A five-game winning streak helped put the Reds back on the positive side of .500, but entering Comerica Park, the Reds sit with just one more win (35) than losses (34).
Heading into this weekend, the Reds are fourth in the National League Central and have the same two teams (the St. Louis Cardinals and Brewers) between them and the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs and the third wild-card team, the San Diego Padres.
In the next seven series, starting this weekend in Detroit, the Reds will face six teams with better records. The Reds' last two series before the All-Star Break are against a pair of cellar dwellers: the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies. With series against the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers between the All-Star Game and the trade deadline, their direction should be clear by then, even if it's foggy now.
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Last season, the Reds' 1.7 fWAR from their outfield was 26th in baseball. The team added Austin Hays on a one-year deal, but that was it. Bigger names were out there, but the Reds couldn't find an outfielder via trade or in their price range, so there wasn't much change.
Still, the Reds already have gotten more fWAR from their outfield through the first 79 games, with 2.2, 17th best in baseball. Better, the outfield could still be improved.
The top available outfielder on the trade market this past offseason was the Chicago White Sox's Luis Robert Jr. The White Sox's asking price was high enough that Robert stayed on the South Side of Chicago. He's back on the market but is expensive and just took two days off for a 'reset,' after starting the season with a .573 OPS. Will the White Sox swallow their pride and trade him for the player he's been this year, or will they continue to overvalue and ask outrageous prices for him?
Taylor Ward of the Los Angeles Angels is another underperforming outfielder who wasn't dealt this offseason.
The Baltimore Orioles' collapse should make Ryan O'Hearn available, and the left-handed slugger would upgrade nearly any lineup, including the Reds'.
This offseason, the Reds put a lot of their hopes in the return of several players from injury. Center fielder TJ Friedl and lefty Andrew Abbott certainly have, and second baseman Matt McLain and infielder/outfielder Spencer Steer have struggled. Outfielders Will Benson and Jake Fraley have had uneven performances, and Hays and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have been on and off the injured list.
Hope is hardly a strategy, or at least one that inspires, well, hope. There have been signs from McLain and Steer that they could get closer to what was expected from them, and Encarnacion-Strand has been better since coming off the IL. Hays has been fantastic when he's been on the field, but he's on his third IL trip of the season.
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Hunter Greene's status is still uncertain. He is currently in California getting second opinions on his groin injury and back soreness.
The Reds expect third baseman Noelvi Marte and right-hander Carson Spiers back at some point before the break.
The biggest and perhaps best addition the team could make could be from its minor leagues. Last year's No. 2 pick, right-hander Chase Burns, has sailed through the minor leagues to Triple A. In his debut for the Louisville Bats on Wednesday, Burns allowed two runs on four hits with four walks and seven strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. There's an argument to be made that it was the worst start of his professional career.
(Top photo of Will Benson: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)