The Reds have overtaken the Brewers and Pirates and now lead the NL Central. What deals should they make, or not make, at the trade deadline?
The Cincinnati Reds have taken the baseball world by storm, currently riding the longest win streak in the MLB, closing in on double-digit wins in a row. Their roster has playoff potential, even NL Central-winning potential. If they can put all their pieces together, they can go further than anybody would expect.
But they don't have all the pieces of their roster just yet. One of their top prospects, Christian Encarnacion-Strand currently resides in Triple-A, awaiting his call-up. There are plenty of Reds also on the injured list. Just recently, the Reds parted ways with veteran outfielder Wil Myers, showing the front office's true desire to win.
This desire will expand to the trade market as well.
Reds Rumors: 3 trades to make to win NL Central, 1 to avoid
3. The Reds need to make a move for LHP Aroldis Chapman
One of the biggest holes in the Cincinnati Reds roster is their lack of left-handed pitching in the bullpen. They feature just one lefty arm in the MLB and Triple-A bullpens combined. To make matters worse, that arm, Alex Young, has reverse splits making him less effective against lefties than against righties. Righties are slashing .220/.258/.373 against Young while lefties are slashing .268/.359/.429 against him.
Besides just missing a lefty, the Reds are missing high-end velocity and a high-leverage reliever in their bullpen. Alexis Diaz and Lucas Sims have been great in high-leverage situations, but Buck Farmer and Ian Gibaut have been better in middle-relief situations. The addition of a high-leverage reliever could lighten the load on everybody involved, taking some of the weight off of their shoulders and allowing them to play within themselves.
This is where a reunion with their old closer, Aroldis Chapman would make sense. Chapman would provide them the lefty out of the bullpen they so desperately need as well as adding a much-needed high-leverage reliever. Chapman also has the next-level velocity that the Reds bullpen is lacking. A reunion with Chapman would be a cheap option that the Reds definitely need to explore.
2. The Reds need to trade away C Luke Maile
The Reds are one of the few teams in the MLB to carry three active catchers. This decision has worked well for them for the time being, but in order to make a playoff push, they need as much talent on the team as possible. In order to do this, they would need to ditch the three-catcher experiment to maximize their roster talent.
The odd man out would be either Luke Maile or Curt Casali.
The Reds need to trade Maile before the deadline. Maile would be the perfect option because he would hold more value to other teams than Casali would. Maile provides a good, veteran defensive catcher that can produce offensively from time to time. Casali is more valuable to the Reds but not as valuable to the rest of the league.
Casali provides great pitch calling and relationships with the Reds' pitching staff, making him their best defensive option. He also appears to be the personal catcher for Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene.
The Reds could get good value for Luke Maile. MLB teams would jump all over a catching option like him that provides good defense and leadership, as well as some average production offensively. Cincinnati needs to make the deal to ship Maile away here soon to make room on their roster for more young contributors.
1. The Reds need to acquire Guardians ace, RHP Shane Bieber
The Reds are in the perfect position to add a starting pitcher, which could potentially push them over the top. Their team and their front office have both made it quite obvious that they are ready to win, and they are ready to win right now. The biggest hole in their team is at starting pitcher, and there are plenty of pitchers on the trade block at the deadline.
"We're in first place. We're looking to win. That's our goal. I think we want to do whatever we can for this team. We just need to continue to play well and see what's out there," Nick Krall said discussing the trade deadline.
Enter Shane Bieber.
There are few pitchers that could be made available that are better and more decorated than the Guardians ace. Bieber holds tremendous value as he is under team control for the rest of this year as well as next season. Along with that, he is in his prime years athletically and has been incredibly consistent over the last few years.
The package to get Bieber would likely cost the Reds more than most fans would like, but his addition would be huge for the roster. The Reds would just need to avoid digging too deep into their farm system for this deal.
The Reds need to avoid dealing their closer, RHP Alexis Diaz
The Reds have a young, controllable closer that has shown that he is one of the best in the league. If any team calls them and asks about Alexis Diaz, the Reds need to hang the phone up immediately, no questions asked. Diaz has offered the Reds their best relief pitcher since Aroldis Chapman was pitching in Cincinnati.
This season, Diaz has converted 19 saves in 19 opportunities, while holding the longest active save streak. His ERA is sub 2.00 and his dominance has been irreplaceable. Diaz will garner a ton of attention from other MLB teams for the foreseeable future, as he is young, controllable, and one of the best closers in the MLB.
But to win a World Series, the team needs a reliable bullpen with a lockdown closer.
Diaz would be excellent for any team in the MLB, but he is on the Reds and the Reds need to keep it that way. No offer is worth losing the closer that has willed a team to so many different wins this year. There hasn't been a situation Diaz couldn't control.
