With the MLB trade deadline only a week away, rumors about who will be sent where are flying every which way. The Cincinnati Reds aren’t having the best season, but they still have time to turn it around and make the playoffs.
Who would be able to help the Reds finish the season strong? Here is a look at the three best players Cincinnati can target at the trade deadline to help them reach the postseason.
Cedric Mullins, with the Baltimore Orioles, would be the best possible player for the Reds to target before the deadline. A three-time all-star, Mullins is batting .214 this season with 13 home runs.
This kind of bat, able to hit for both contact and power, would be immensely beneficial to Cincinnati. When it rains for this Reds team, it pours, and a bat like Mullins would help greatly to alleviate those dam-breaking innings they tend to give up.
Although he typically plays center field, Mullins has also spent a little time in left and right field. Totaling 35 innings at these positions throughout his career, he has a fielding percentage of .1000.
This is important because TJ Friedl is well-established as this team’s CF, but the LF and RF spots are much more malleable. Sliding Mullins into either role as the everyday man could drastically improve their lineup without adding any liabilities on the defensive end.
Baltimore is having a tough season, currently last in the American League East. The Reds have a loaded farm system and could easily put together a package of prospects enticing enough to bring the three-time ll-Star to Cincinnati.
Steven Kwan, outfielder for the Cleveland Guardians, would be another excellent addition to this Reds lineup, batting .285 this season. Kwan isn’t exactly a power hitter, accruing only 31 home runs across his four years in the MLB, but his contact would fit perfectly with how this Reds team plays.
Cincinnati has seen its best baseball when it approaches every at-bat, regardless of score or situation, with the intent of just getting on base.
This style sees a lot of contact and a lot of motion on the bases. Kwan’s bat and base running (11 steals this season and 63 in his career) would only work to enhance this style of play.
Kwan has spent much more time in both left and right fields than Mullins, and thus would be less of a question mark at the positions. The Guardians would be a tougher sell, too, currently second in the American League Central.
One thing Cleveland desperately needs, and Cincinnati has in abundance, though, is pitching. The Reds would most likely have to trade one of their better young pitchers, but could walk away with a player that could invigorate this team’s contact hitting and base running.
Eugenio Suarez, third baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks, has been one of the premier targets at the trade deadline. If Cincinnati decides to pursue him, as has been reported, he could be a big difference-maker.
Suarez currently leads the MLB in RBI with 86, and is batting .252 this season with 36 home runs. Adding this kind of power to the Reds’ lineup would be immensely beneficial on paper, but it would also have a massive impact on team chemistry.
Having spent seven years in Cincinnati and seemingly loving it, Suarez’s presence would be invaluable. He would, in spirit, take the mantle of Joey Votto as the long-tenured fan-favorite veteran.
Arizona is fourth in the National League West, and six games back, so it’s a realistic scenario. If Suarez does become a Red again, he has the potential to make an impact that no other player in the league would be able to.
Cincinnati is underperforming this season, and with the trade deadline approaching, there are a number of players who would be able to help them finish strong. The three that would have the biggest impact, however, are Mullins, Kwan, and Suarez.
While that’s probably in reverse order of which of these players is most likely to be traded, any of them would be a welcome addition. If the Reds make a trade within the next week, there isn’t a better, or more likely, scenario than any of these three players to help Cincinnati finally reach the postseason.
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