The Cincinnati Reds have some real decisions to make before the trade deadline, and Brady Singer has quickly become one of the most interesting names on the board.
MLB.com’s Travis Sawchik recently labeled Singer an “under-the-radar” trade candidate, and that fits. He may not be the flashiest arm available, but he checks a lot of boxes for a contender looking to shore up a rotation for the stretch run.
“The most sought-after arms at the Deadline are impact starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal is the headline name, with arms like Kevin Gausman, Reid Detmers and Trevor Rogers a tier or two below,” Sawchik wrote. “While Singer might not be the type of arm a club prefers to start a postseason game, he is the type of durable innings-eater who can help bolster a rotation to get a team to the postseason.
“Quietly, over the past month, even while pitching his home games at Great American Ball Park, he's tied for 26th among pitchers in fWAR, in addition to posting a 2.37 ERA. During that stretch, he has one of the most valuable sliders in baseball, by run value.”
That kind of profile plays at the deadline. Teams chasing October are always hunting for starting pitching, even if the pitcher in question is better suited to stabilize the middle of a rotation than headline a playoff game. Singer fits that mold as a dependable veteran who could slide in as a third, fourth, or fifth starter.
For Cincinnati, the bigger issue is timing. Singer is on an expiring contract, and it’s tough to picture the Reds outbidding the market to keep him around in free agency. If he’s going to walk anyway, moving him now makes sense.
The Reds also have enough pitching in the pipeline and on the major league roster to absorb the loss. Hunter Greene, Chase Burns, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo are already in the big leagues.
Rhett Lowder has flashed high-end ability. Brandon Williamson could still develop into an end-of-the-rotation option if he bounces back from his injury this season, and Chase Petty is another arm in the farm system.
Keeping Singer would mean banking on a run that doesn’t look especially realistic. The Reds may not be built for a World Series push right now, which is why dealing an expiring starter like Singer feels like the cleaner move.
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