Update: The Cincinnati Reds have reportedly traded LHP Tony Cingrani according to Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan.
Sources: The Reds have traded Tony Cingrani. Not sure to whom yet.
— Zach Buchanan (@ZachENQ) July 31, 2017
Tony Cingrani has been traded to the Dodgers, according to Ken Rosenthal. We still don’t know the return. If there is an actual player coming back (instead of just a PTBNL), I’ll create a new post for that move if the player is a minor leaguer. If it’s a Major Leaguer coming back I’ll just update this post again.
Original post below
As I was typing up this post, when it seemed that nothing was going to happen, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweeted this out, indicating that something could happen in the next hour:
There’s a chance things could be brewing for the #Reds. Don’t expect anything big, but… some action
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) July 31, 2017
The options for the Cincinnati Reds seem rather limited. Unfortunately for them, injuries have taken away what are probably their two biggest trade pieces that are obvious. Zack Cozart and Scott Feldman could both still be moved after the trade deadline, but the process is far more complicated.
The bullpen has options that could be moved, but the most obvious one is Drew Storen. The right hander is having success, throwing 41.2 innings with the Reds to go with a 3.24 ERA. His stuff won’t wow anyone, and he’s not going to fill a need as a closer for any team. However, for a team that needs another reliable arm, Drew Storen could absolutely fill that need.
As a rental player the return would be limited for Storen, for sure. But, he also isn’t owed much money the rest of the season as he’s only on a $3M contract for the entire season. That is probably enticing for teams that could be interested.
With the way that the trade deadline has played out, though, I’m beginning to wonder if the team should be buyers. Obviously they shouldn’t be trading for any rental players. But with teams acquiring 2-year control, quality players without giving up their top prospects, this could make some sense. The Reds farm system has tons of depth and they could trade from a strength with that depth to acquire proven big league players while taking minimal risk.
I’ll update this if and when the team makes a move. If not, I’ll update this with some more thoughts if the trade deadline comes and goes without a trade.
