The Cincinnati Reds’ trade deadline approach has drawn a sharp rebuke, with The Athletic’s Zack Meisel, Andy McCullough and Johnny Flores Jr. ranking the club No. 24 in the league and assigning a grade of “C” for its moves.
That grade may have been generous, at least by the view laid out in their assessment. Cincinnati stayed largely on the sidelines at the deadline, moving only a few players instead of making a real push to buy or sell. The result was a roster left in an awkward middle ground: not improved for a run this season, and not stocked with enough young talent to feel better about what comes next.
Meisel pointed to the confusion around the Reds’ decision-making, especially with the team spending much of the year in the NL Central basement. “The Reds have been stuck in the NL Central basement for much of the season, so there was confusion across the industry as to why the team didn’t do more selling at the deadline.
Brady Singer, for instance, is headed for free agency at the end of the season, but remained a Red," Meisel wrote. "Tyler Stephenson figured he’d be dealt, but the call never came.
It’s been more of the same for Cincinnati since the deadline: a couple wins here, a few losses there. In August, the Reds recorded six games with nine or more runs and 10 games with zero or one run.
They’re the definition of inconsistent."
That inconsistency has defined Cincinnati for much of the season, and the deadline only reinforced it. The club passed on the chance to cash in expiring pieces for prospects.
It also didn’t make a move to add talent for the stretch run. In the end, the Reds chose a path that left them without much to show for either the present or the future.
Now, with the season winding down, Cincinnati remains near the bottom of a crowded National League Central and still searching for direction. The deadline was a chance to choose one. Instead, the Reds stood still, and that decision is already looking costly.
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