The Reds may be drifting toward seller territory, and one former front-office voice thinks that opens the door for a notable name to change teams.
On Monday, former Reds general manager Jim Bowden laid out his trade-deadline thoughts in The Athletic, and one player he tied to the Blue Jays was Spencer Steer. Bowden called Steer an ideal fit for Toronto, pointing to his defensive versatility and steady power production.
"Steer can play first, third and left and is on pace to eclipse 20 homers for the fourth consecutive year," Bowden wrote. "He’s still only 28 but is arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, which is why the Reds could move on from him."
Steer added another homer to the ledger in Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Orioles, his 14th of the season. He’s spent time all over the diamond for Cincinnati and, despite the trade chatter, hasn’t been a popular name in rumors because he isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.
Through the season, the 28-year-old has hit .238/.317/.422 with 26 extra-base hits, including those 14 home runs.
Cincinnati’s direction at the deadline is still the bigger question. The Reds beat the Orioles on Sunday afternoon to move to 41-48, and unless they rattle off about 10 straight wins, they’re expected to be sellers with less than a month to go before the deadline. Bowden said the club should be aggressive about moving expiring contracts, but also suggested it would make sense to sell high on a few players.
"The Reds need another impact bat, preferably in the outfield, but the way they’re playing right now, they’re much better off being sellers."
While the deadline picture hangs over the roster, two young Reds have already made their mark in a season that hasn’t gone the way Cincinnati wanted. Chase Burns and Sal Stewart have been among the bright spots, and both earned All-Star nods.
Burns has turned into one of the most dominant pitchers in the sport. The 22-year-old is tied for the Major League lead with 10 wins, ranks sixth in ERA at 2.40, sits 10th in strikeouts with 116, and has limited opponents to a .207 batting average.
He also leads all of baseball with 15 starts of two earned runs or fewer and owns a 4.3 WAR, the second-highest total among MLB pitchers. Heading into the All-Star break, Burns has won nine straight decisions, the first Reds pitcher to do that in a single season since 1985.
Stewart has been just as eye-catching on the rookie front. The 22-year-old infielder leads National League rookies in home runs, RBI, doubles, walks, extra-base hits and total bases, while also pacing the Reds with 17 home runs, 60 RBI and 37 extra-base hits.
He’s only the seventh rookie in franchise history to make an All-Star team, and the first Reds position player to do it since Chris Sabo in 1988. Stewart also trails only Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for the most home runs by a Reds rookie before the All-Star break.
For a team that has had plenty of frustration, Burns and Stewart have been the kind of breakout performances that stand out immediately.
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Reds Fans Can See Where This Former Core Piece Is Headed
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McLain has already been moved down in the batting order, and the numbers have only deepened the concern about where this is headed. For a club that has fallen from a fast start into last place in the NL Central, every at-bat matters, and the Reds now have to weigh whether a reset is the best way to get McLain back on track before the seasons next roster decisions start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
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Franconas stance matters because the Reds are still sorting out how best to maximize an offense that leans heavily on De La Cruz to spark it. The managers view is that moving him would not improve the lineup as a whole, which leaves Cincinnati with a clear message about how it plans to attack games for now and a strong hint about who it expects to carry the load when the bats get rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Fans Wont Believe Which Core Starter Just Entered Trade Buzz
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There are other names in the mix if the Reds decide to explore the market, and Nick Lodolo has quietly made himself harder to ignore with the way he has thrown the ball lately. Brady Singer also stands out as the cleaner deadline fit because of his contract situation, while the return of Hunter Greene has already tightened the rotation picture and pushed other arms into different roles. For Cincinnati, the real question is not whether it has pitching to talk about, but which arm it would be willing to move if the right deal comes along. [Read more 🡒]