As the trade deadline arrives, Brady Singer has become one of the names to watch in Cincinnati. The Reds starter is expected to be moved on Monday, and the Phillies have surfaced as a possible landing spot as they search for help at the back end of their rotation.
Cole Weinstraub of NBC Philadelphia reported that Singer is a likely target for Philadelphia. MLB.com's Mark Sheldon also listed several other possible fits: White Sox, Padres, Braves, Cubs, Phillies, Rays, Twins.
Singer’s numbers have quietly shifted his market. He opened the season with some rough stretches, but since the start of June he has posted an ERA below three. In his last seven starts, the veteran right-hander has put up a 2.81 ERA.
The contract situation only adds to the likelihood that the Reds would listen. Singer is on an expiring deal, and the team is not expected to extend him, making a trade the most logical path if Cincinnati wants to extract value now.
Singer addressed the deadline after his last start, and he didn’t pretend to have any control over it.
“I have no idea," Singer told Sheldon. "It’s out of my control and stuff like that.
I’m just going to come to work tomorrow and do my stuff. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Just have to find out.”
That uncertainty is part of the business, and it lands harder when the player involved is the one living it. A deadline deal means more than a new uniform; it can mean packing up life fast and starting over with a new club.
Meanwhile, Chase Burns kept giving the Reds exactly what they needed on Sunday. He turned in another strong outing in a win over the Pirates, helping Cincinnati take the series.
Burns has now made 21 starts this season, and the Reds are 16-5 in those games. He said that kind of impact matters to him.
“I think every time you take the ball, your job is to put up as many zeroes as possible and try to put the team in the best position to win," Burns said. "I take pride in limiting runs and trying to win ballgames.”
His afternoon wasn’t straightforward, either. Burns had to work through a weather delay that lasted nearly 30 minutes, and Terry Francona said he liked how the rookie handled it.
“We kind of counted it like it was one inning when he was sitting there. And when we got up to 80-something that was enough but I thought he pitched like an ace," Francona said.
"The other thing, we want to get him to a certain point too. We don’t want to be messing around next year thinking, ‘God, we didn’t get him far enough.’
As long as he’s healthy, he looked just fine.”
For the Reds, Burns has been exactly what they hoped for when they drafted him No. 2 overall.
In Other News...
Reds Face A Catching Problem That Makes Cardinals Hard To Ignore
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It also explains why St. Louis keeps surfacing in the conversation. The Cardinals have more catching depth than most clubs, which naturally makes them an appealing neighbor on paper, but trading across the division is rarely simple. Any deal for one of their catchers would come at a steep price, and for the Reds, the challenge is not just identifying a fit, but figuring out whether the cost would be worth paying. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Surge Just Made One Deadline Decision Feel Even Bigger
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Terry Francona has made it clear the trade deadline belongs to the front office, not the dugout, and that distinction matters now more than ever. The organizations willingness to listen on players such as JJ Bleday, Nathaniel Lowe and Dane Myers suggests the Reds may be thinking beyond this season even as the standings leave the door cracked open. For a team that has played its way into the conversation, the deadline could say just as much about the long view as the standings do about the short one. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Deadline Could Bring Elly De La Cruz The Infield Help He Needs
The Reds are headed toward the trade deadline in seller mode, which opens the door to some familiar roster reshuffling in Cincinnati. Players on expiring contracts like Brady Singer and Tyler Stephenson could be moved if the front office decides to recoup value, and the bigger question is whether any of those deals help shape the club beyond this season.
One name drawing speculation is Baltimore infielder Jackson Holliday, a young player now on the trade block and the kind of addition that would fit a team trying to support its young core. For Cincinnati, the appeal is obvious: a chance to add more infield stability around Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart while the deadline market takes shape, even if no deal is close to being done. [Read more 🡒]