The Cincinnati Reds have been dealing with injury after injury it seems to start this season. The Reds currently sit in last place in the National League Central with a 19-28 record and are eight and a half games out of first place right now entering the new week of play. This week they host the San Diego Padres for three games and then on Friday the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town for a three-game set. The Reds are two and five over their last seven games losing a three-game series to the Arizona Diamondbacks and over the weekend lost a four-game series one game to three against the Dodgers. The Reds are not out of it yet, but they need to find a way to give Elly De La Cruz some support, as of right now he is the lone bright spot in this Cincinnati Lineup right now. I have four potential moves to make along with two long shots that could help kickstart this offense, while TJ Friedl and Matt McLain are missing from the everyday lineup.
3B – Levi Jordan
Currently, he is playing for the Reds Triple-A affiliate team the Louisville Bats. Jordan is a 28-year-old right-handed bat. He has played in 27 games for Louisville Bats this year with 94 at-bats. He has 15 runs scored, 32 hits, two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 12 RBIs, 14 walks, 17 strikeouts, and four stolen bases. He is slashing .340/.436/.479 with a .915 OPS so far this year in Triple-A. The Reds need guys getting on base to set the table for De La Cruz. Right now he is providing all the spark for the Reds on a consistent basis and needs help. Jordan is a call up and why not give the guy a shot? You can call him up and still pull a move for one of the names below to ignite this offense.
1B/3B – Isaac Parades
Parades is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Rays on a one-year 3.4 million dollar deal. With the Rays eight games back in the American League East entering play today, they are not out of it but still are a team that isn’t afraid to move a one-year deal to gain control of a prospect or two. Parades can play anywhere in the infield but mainly third base this season. He has played in 44 games for the Rays this season with 1652 at-bats. He has 20 runs scored, 50 hits, seven doubles, nine home runs, 26 RBIs, 20 walks, and 33 strikeouts. He is currently slashing .309/.397/.519 with a .916 OPS on the season. Parades is a talented player and with a one-year deal in place he could be had for a middle-tier prospect and perhaps a lower-level prospect.
3B – Ryan McMahon
McMahon is the starting third baseman for the Colorado Rockies, who are 15.5 games out and in last place in the National League West right now. The tricky part with making a move for McMahon would be the fact that he has a very hefty salary. He is signed through 2027 and will make over 11 million dollars this season for the Rockies. The Rockies have a bunch of holes on their roster and in their farm system, so perhaps a deal could be worked out by sending a top 20 prospect and a prospect in the 30-40 range to the Rockies for the services of McMahon. I think Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty, both would be off the table for arms, but after those two I would be open to seeing what it might take to acquire McMahon. He has played in 46 games so far with 173 at-bats with 22 runs scored, 53 hits, 10 doubles, seven home runs, 25 RBIs, 24 walks, and 52 strikeouts. He is slashing .306/.387/.486 with a .873 OPS on the year. The Reds have some young talent that is logged jammed in the minors so perhaps they could try a combo of a top 20 Pitching prospect and a top 15 bat to pry McMahon away from the Rockies.
OF/INF – Taylor Ward
Taylor Ward is a Los Angeles Angels currently playing on a one-year 4.8 million dollar contract. Ward can play either corner outfield position as well as either corner infield position. He has played 46 games for the Angels a team going nowhere this year and could benefit from moving a player like Ward to boost their shallow prospect pool. He has 182 at-bats with 27 runs scored, 50 hits, nine doubles, 10 home runs, 28 RBIs, 13 walks, and 42 strikeouts this year. He is currently slashing .275/.318/.489 with a .807 OPS on the year. Ward could be a nice addition for the Reds with a low price tag. Ward’s flexibility in the field and the ability to bat anywhere in the lineup would provide the Reds manager David Bell flexibility as the team gets healthy later in the season.
Long Shots:
OF – Tyler O’Neill
O’neil was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Red Sox this offseason and has been a power source for the Red Sox so far this season. The downfall for O’neil has always been his ability to stay healthy. He is on a one-year contract with the Red Sox worth 5.85 Million dollars so with Boston already nine and a half games back in the American League East the Red Sox could become sellers sooner rather than later. He has played in 37 games this year with 133 at-bats with 29 runs scored, 35 hits, six doubles, 11 home runs, 17 RBIs, 22 walks, 48 strikeouts, and one stolen base. He is slashing .263/.376/.556 with a .932 OPS on the year. Another outfielder in the mix for the Reds might not seem like a good move, but if the team isn’t sold on Will Benson being an everyday outfielder then an addition of O’Neill might just be worth the rental for this season.
1B/DH – Vladimir Guerrero JR
Vladdy is on a one-year deal with the Blue Jays worth 19.9 million dollars. He has played in 46 games this year with 173 at-bats. He has 18 runs scored, 49 hits, seven doubles, four home runs, 20 RBIs, 24 walks, 39 strikeouts, and one stolen base. He is slashing .283/.374/.393 with a .767 OPS on the year. Vlad has not had the kind of season the Blue Jays had hoped for and it might be time to trade him away for a prospect or two before letting him walk in free agency. A change of scenery might be best for the young First baseman who has struggled to repeat his sensational rookie season.
Wrap Up:
If I were the Reds all of the above would be something I would explore, McMahon would be the hardest sell for me right now due to his contract, but the control is appealing. The Reds have talent, just underperforming right this minute and without TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, and suspended top prospect Noelvi Marte adding firepower via trade makes sense if they want to try and climb back into the division hunt and truly contend for a playoff spot. In the meantime, I would by all means bring up Levi Jordan and give the guy a shot to see if he can provide a spark to this sputtering offense. I would love to see a healthy Tyler O’Neill playing at Great American Ball Park this summer, but the cheapest option out there might just be to bring up Jordan and trade for Ward. I hope the Reds make a move because they have talent and a spark is what this club needs to get hot heading into the summer months.
