The Reds are baseball’s hottest team. After knocking off the Rockies 8-6 this evening, Cincinnati has reeled off 10 consecutive wins to push a season-high four games over .500. Their 39-35 record has them atop a wide open NL Central, half a game up on the Brewers.
Cincinnati’s surprising hot streak comes as teams are beginning to weigh their approaches to the upcoming trade deadline. Reds general manager Nick Krall met with reporters before tonight’s game and suggested they’re trending towards adding to the MLB roster.
“We’re in first place. We’re looking to win,” Krall said when asked if the team was planning to add at the deadline (relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Unsurprisingly, the GM pointed to the pitching staff — both the rotation and bullpen — as an area where they could try to improve (via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
The Reds’ midseason turnaround has been driven in large part by an influx of position players from the farm system. Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain have hit the ground running after midseason debuts. Fellow rookie Spencer Steer, who reached the majors last September, has somewhat quietly put together an excellent .278/.361/.475 showing while bouncing around the corner positions. Holdovers Jonathan India, TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley are all having strong years.
Rather suddenly, Cincinnati finds itself with a surplus of hitting talent. They designated Wil Myers — their highest-paid free agent pickup of last offseason — for assignment this afternoon rather than create room for him on the roster to return from the injured list. Corner infield prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand would likely have made his MLB debut for a number of teams by now thanks to a .348/.421/.687 showing in Triple-A. With Steer, India, McLain, De La Cruz and Joey Votto around the infield, the Reds don’t have the MLB playing time for Encarnacion-Strand at the moment.
Over the past month, only the Giants and Braves have scored more runs than Cincinnati. It’s a young lineup but one that’s firing on all cylinders. Perhaps injuries or a few slumps will open a clear need on the position player side within the next month, but there aren’t any obvious holes in the lineup right now.
The pitching staff is another story. Cincinnati entered the season with a top-heavy rotation reliant on second-year arms Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene and Graham Aschraft. All three are presently on the injured list. Ashcraft should be back this week, but he has an ERA pushing 7.00 over 13 starts. Greene will miss at least the next two weeks; Lodolo is out into August.
Rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott has carried over a breakout upper minors showing to toss 17 2/3 scoreless innings to kick off his MLB career. While he’s obviously a very promising pitcher, he has all of three big league appearances and is already the club’s best healthy starter. Offseason signee Luke Weaver has an ERA above 6.00 and is struggling mightily to keep the ball in the yard. Brandon Williamson has a 5.40 ERA over his first seven starts. Ben Lively has acquitted himself well at the back of the staff, but he’s a journeyman who didn’t start a single MLB game between 2019-22.
Even if Greene joins Ashcraft in making a quick return from the IL, the Reds need rotation help if they’re to fight for a division title. Cincinnati’s bullpen has been a little more reliable. They entered play Tuesday ranked 10th in ERA (3.73), although they’re just 22nd in strikeout rate (22.6%).
Alexis Díaz has been almost untouchable in the ninth inning. There’s room for help bridging the gap to Díaz, with Lucas Sims, Ian Gibaut, Derek Law and Alex Young representing David Bell’s highest-leverage setup arms. Young is the only left-hander in the current group, so another southpaw could be on the wishlist.
Krall predictably didn’t delve into specific targets. Whether the Reds would seriously vie for a top impending free agent trade candidate (i.e. Lucas Giolito or old friend Aroldis Chapman) during a season in which they’re surprise contenders isn’t clear. Perhaps the front office will prioritize players with multiple years of control, simultaneously trying to support this year’s club while adding to future rosters that’ll enter seasons with higher expectations than the 2023 team did.
How the team performs over the next six weeks could determine how much the front office is willing to push in young talent. That Krall is openly positioning the team as a buyer in late June is a testament to how quickly things have looked upwards. The GM has already suggested there’s room on the books to take on some money for the stretch run, a sentiment he repeated this evening. It’s an exciting time in Cincinnati, one that looks to have changed the deadline trajectory for a team that seemed to be a seller just a few weeks ago.
The Reds and 15 other teams will be looking to add pitching. There won’t be all that much pitching available.
The Reds have a deeper farm system
Exactly. If they won’t spend big money, it will be costly in young talent. My cousin had CES stay with him in AZ a few years back and has been raving about him since. He’s only going to one place, Cincinnati but could certainly be used as a big trade chip.
In retrospect, I’m betting the Reds wish they had tried harder to extend Luis Castillo last year instead of trading him. He’s looking as good as he ever has in his career this season, signed a reasonable extension with Seattle, and a true ace is easily the Reds biggest need at this point. Noelvi Marte looks like he has a great future ahead of him, but he and Edwin Arroyo (the centerpieces of the deal) seem redundant at this point with the Reds absurd wealth of infield talent. That being said, they were in total rebuild mode a year ago and I doubt they expected to be contending the way they are this season. And hindsight is 20/20.
They can also flip those two prospects for more pitching
There is a danger there too. They could have just as easily chosen Tyler Mahle to extend since he would have been more cost efficient. Remember about a decade ago they chose to extend Homer Bailey instead of Johnny Cueto. Which basically sealed the end of their early 2010s run.
Besides, they could always flip Marte and/or Arroyo this year for a starter. I think Dylan Cease would be the perfect fit for them. Package him with a reliever like Joe Kelly and give up 3-4 prospects including Marte. Maybe even CES.
Thank God you’re not the GM. This is literally year 0 of the rebuild – you DO NOT sacrifice many key pieces of the future for one year. No way you trade Marte and CES, let alone both. That is how we ended up in the tailspin of the last 8 years. We potentially have a 5-7 year perennial playoff window, and you have to stick with the plan. No way they sacrifice that by trading our top 2 prospects for a rental
You don’t have to thank God, just thank me. I turned the job down.
Trevor Bauer returns to the Reds lol. Wonder if Bauer will ever pitch in MLB again, probably not
Probably not. Even if he did, he would probably choke. Not choke pitching, just choke people.
@doug. As long as it’s consensual
I’m interested to find out the kind of players Arroyo and Noelvi will become. That first trade the Mariners made with the Reds last offseason has proven to be mutually beneficial just based on Fraley and Geno.
Great article!
Accurate and to the point.
Should help those that haven’t followed the Reds up to this point in 2023 but are now curious. The article should bring those fans up to date.
Because it’s such a weak division, there’s a good chance the Reds don’t fade away.
The one team that adds hitting instead of pitching wins the WS. 🙂
Get in line fellas
Hmmmm, I bet Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle will be available.
Mahle is out
They need to take the return they got for Castillo & turn it into some pitching depth….
Cease & Chapman would be my targets & unlike a lot of the other competition; I’d be willing to depart with a few top 100 prospects to get them…
Mahle had TJ surgery
It’s only a small sample size, but just seeing Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain, have Cincinnati fans glowing and excited for many years to come. Welcome to The Show!
Reds have all “Big Three” (Greene, Lodolo, Ashcraft), 3 other sp options (Overton, Gutierrez, Dunn) and 4 relievers (Antone, Law, Sanmartin, Santillan) on the IL.. Meanwhile, the team has ascended from last place to first place in their division. Also the minor league system has gone from a losing record to a winning record with 6 of it’s 7 teams above .500. So let’s second guess Nick Krall’s previous trades? Amazing- just amazing! Krall & company are focused on delivering another successful 2023 MLB draft (as well they should- and must). The rebuild is ahead of schedule and proceeding just fine. Even ownership appears reactionary- thinking short term. I hope Krall stays the course.
The Reds pen is performing well now but could be worn out soon if they don’t get another starter and more long relief.
Like I said call the Tigers and package Erod and/or Lorenzen and some of their relievers (Cisnero, Shreve, Alexander or for the right price one of Vest, Foley or even Lange). The Tigers need hitting and infielders. Cam Collier and Arroyo or Marte? One stop shopping for both sides.
I just hope Krall looks at the future as well as the next 3 months. We are looking at a good run the next 4 plus years. Some of the best trades are the ones not made. Be careful Nick.
Chapman already publicly stated he wants to retire a red. Could see a trade/sign worked out there between cincy and kc.
Twins will give you Mahle back for strand!
What a dumpster fire the NL Central is. I guess not as bad as the AL Central, though.
Please Central teams just sell already.
I’ll believe those cheapskates are buyers when they actually buy. Until then I am highly skeptical.
Well, when Ben Lively is your #2 starter you aren’t going anywhere. So I guess since they prefer a 39 year old .210 hitter to CES they will have to trade CES for Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove?
Man, I bet no one wins an argument with you. Make up a random batting average for Votto and call Lively the Reds #2 with 3 pitchers ahead of him on the DL.
Votto’s batting average in 2022-2023 is .207 so I was rounding. He hit .173 in AAA so I kind of felt like I was being generous. Sheesh. Lighten up.
He also hit .266 with a .560 slg in 2021 when he was last healthy.
You are on target. Keep CES and put Votto out to pasture for the rest of the season. Our top 3 young starting pitchers can’t seem to stay off the DL. That could prove to be a problem. If they think McClain or De La Cruz will be the SS going forward then package Arroyo and maybe Collier along with a few others for a couple of starters.. They might need Arroyo going forward more than Collier. There seems to a surplus at 3B in the Reds system..
That 2021 player is probably gone. The reality of a pennant race means you live in the now, not hope for an unlikely return of past glory.
Votto keeps depositing balls “out to the pasture”. Imagine wanting to keep Newman over Votto
Who wants to keep Newman over Votto? I’m talking about playing CES everyday in the majors.
There are two very good SP who are p*ssed their present employers won’t talk about an extension.
Unfortunately, both pitchers pitch for an NL Central team: Corbin Burnes and Marcus Stroman. So doubt they would trade them to a division rival, especially this year when all five teams still have a shot at winning the division.
Maybe Trevor Williams (Nats) or maybe they could get Soroka from the Braves? No room in the inn for him in Atlanta.
Okay, not the front line starter Reds fans want, but the price for either one would be a whole lot less than it would take to get a bigger name.
Keep the prospects. All of them., and especially the pitchers. There’s no assurances they won’t be needed.
Soroka is like what we already have.. He can’t stay off the DL.
Maybe worthwhile to reach out to Mike Leake. He’s unsigned and we could use a veteran Sp
Funnest team to watch in MLB, Like all the small market teams.
The Big markets that are pricing everyone not to be able to watch are the worst, like the Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Angels, and Padres are not..
Karma, Love it
The Red Sox could trade them a lefty (Paxton) for a good prospect
Dylan Cease for Will Benson and Senzel