Nick Krall was asked recently what the Cincinnati Reds plan to do at the August 3 trade deadline. His answer: “We’re trying to keep our heads above water right now. If we can keep our heads above water, we have a shot to hang in there. You’re going to have to take some more time before we can figure out exactly who we are and what we can do.”
Read that again. Keep our heads above water. That’s the vision. That’s the plan. The team that went 20-11 in April, one of the best starts in franchise history, is now 34-37 and in last place in the NL Central, and Cincinnati’s president of baseball operations is talking about survival, not contention. He’s certainly not talking about championships.
Here we go again. At the 2023 deadline, when the streaking Reds were in first place with a young, exciting team, Krall said, “I think we want to do whatever we can for this team” and then proceeded to do almost nothing. At the 2024 deadline, he told us he was “working on all different sides” and then added someone named Ty France on a waiver claim.
Last summer, here’s what Krall said: “As we get some guys back, it’s right now a wait and see on where we are and if there’s another injury or two down the road we have to patch. I think that’s what we’re looking at.” The pattern is so consistent at this point that it’s become its own kind of answer. When Krall doesn’t know what to do, he says something that sounds like action but actually says, well, nothing.
And yet I truly want to believe that this particular deadline is different. Or, at least, it could be. Hold that football for me, Lucy, I’m going to try to kick it again.
Hunter Greene has thrown multiple bullpen sessions and is reportedly on track to return before the All-Star break. Elly De La Cruz’s hamstring is healing; he could be back in the lineup very soon. Over at ESPN, Jeff Passan recently wrote a trade deadline preview noting that, if the Reds get healthy and “leapfrog back into playoff contention,” they could be a buyer.
And, you know, you don’t really have to squint to see the possibilities; the third NL wild card spot is not some distant dream. It’s four games away. The path exists. Yeah, it’s that same narrow path, between the peaks and valleys, that the Reds are always trying to traverse these days. But still!
So let’s talk about what actually doing something would look like.
The most obvious need is the outfield and specifically the leadoff spot in the lineup. Entering play on Monday, the Reds were hitting .192 from the top of the order this season, which is dead last in baseball. TJ Friedl was supposed to be the table-setter, but he’s back in Triple-A. Passan mentioned Taylor Ward, the Baltimore outfielder (from Dayton!) who draws walks and can play corner positions, as a potential target. Ward at the top of this lineup, setting the table for Elly, JJ Bleday, and Sal Stewart, is an interesting idea.
The other obvious area of need is a bullpen that must have more reliable arms. You may have noticed it has been the team’s most persistent problem over the last couple of months.
Now, the trade chips. Nathaniel Lowe may be redundant with Sal Stewart locking up first base for the time being, though I do like Lowe’s bat off the bench. Tyler Stephenson and Brady Singer are both on expiring deals, and Singer in particular has had a rough year. None of these are stars, but expiring contracts would always be the first thing the Reds should be looking to move. Can the Reds get anything from these bit pieces on the big league roster? Likely not, and they don’t exactly have anyone ready to take Stephenson’s position behind the plate anyway.
If you’ve read anything I’ve written over the last few years, you probably know what I’m going to say next: The Reds should trade any and all prospects if they can get players who can contribute on the big league level. A prospect has value only to the extent they can provide production in MLB, either as a player eventually (see De La Cruz, Elly) or as an asset in trade negotiations. Look at the prospects Krall refused to trade back at the 2023 deadline. How many of them have actually helped the Reds or will help the Reds in future years?
The window to be a contender was open in 2023, and the Reds steadfastly refused to improve the club because they didn’t want to “mortgage the future.” OK, well, the future is here. How long will this window remain open? Use the assets you have to deliver wins on the big league level, I say.
I wrote a column almost two years ago in which I re-quoted what Reds owner Bob Castellini said at his introductory press conference when he bought this team in 2006: “We’re buying the Reds to win. Anything else is unacceptable.” Twenty years later, his organization’s baseball chief is using the phrase “keep our heads above water.” I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the distance between those two statements.
Meanwhile, Chase Burns is 23 years old and pitching like a Cy Young candidate. The rotation could soon be Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, and Rhett Lowder in addition to Burns, which has the potential to be the best Reds rotation in the last quarter-century. Meanwhile, De La Cruz is the most electrifying player this franchise has had since Eric Davis. Stewart is having a memorable rookie season.
This is the window. It’s not a guarantee, and it’s not even a particularly wide window, but it’s there. And “keeping our heads above water” is what you do when you’re trying not to drown. This franchise should be trying to win.
Chad Dotson helms Reds coverage at Cincinnati Magazine and is co-author of “The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Cincinnati Reds.” His newsletter about Cincinnati sports can be found at chaddotson.com.
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