The Cincinnati Reds have already made themselves a giant commerce this offseason, buying right-handed beginning pitcher Brady Singer from the Kansas Metropolis Royals in trade for Jonathan India and minor league outfielder Joey Wiemer. That seemingly helps clear up a few of the pitching issues that might come up in 2025. However in 2024 it wasn’t a lot the pitching that was an issue as a lot because it was that the offense was by no means good. A few of that could possibly be chalked as much as accidents, besides it will be a good suggestion so as to add a high quality bat to the lineup. One usually talked about such bat is that of Brent Rooker.
The Athletics normal supervisor David Forst has stated that the crew doesn’t plan to commerce Rooker. However after all he’s going to say that. Even when it’s not true. ESPN’s David Schoenfield checked out “one large transfer for each crew” and for Cincinnati it’s buying and selling for the Athletics outfielder.
Rookie was a man who made his debut in 2020 as a 25-year-old and performed in simply seven video games. In 2021 and 2022 he performed in 74 mixed video games for 3 groups and hit .190. However in 2023 he wound up with Oakland and made the All-Star crew whereas hitting 30 residence runs and posting an .817 OPS (127 OPS+). Final season he hit 39 residence runs as a 29-year-old and put up a .927 OPS (165 OPS+).
During the last two years he’s gone from a substitute stage participant to a center of the order slugger. As Schoenfield notes in his article, Oakland would seemingly be promoting excessive on Rooker after his 2024 season. He might be arbitration eligible for the primary time in 2025 and is estimated to make $5,100,000 by MLB Commerce Rumors projections.
Including a man with 30+ residence runs would in all probability assist fairly a bit. Cincinnati had three hitters attain 20 homers in 2024 – Elly De La Cruz with 25 and Spencer Steer and Jeimer Candelario each had 20. There have been occasions throughout the season the place TJ Friedl was hitting cleanup for the Reds. And whereas Friedl’s a strong hitter, there’s not an excellent crew that will have him in the course of their order.
In fact having the ability to commerce for somebody like Brent Rooker, who remains to be making little or no cash and has three extra seasons of crew management remaining earlier than free company comes calling, received’t be “low cost”. Schoenfield believes it will take buying and selling away Rhett Lowder. However he thinks it will be value it with Cincinnati having a handful of excellent beginning pitching choices within the large leagues in addition to a number of prime prospects who could possibly be prepared to assist out in 2025 if the rotation wants some extra assist.
Lowder, the Reds 2023 1st spherical draft decide, rocketed to the massive leagues in 2024. He started his season in Excessive-A with Dayton and shortly moved as much as Double-A the place he spent half of the season earlier than a brief cease in Triple-A earlier than the crew’s #3 prospect joined the Reds rotation in August. In his ultimate 13 begins of the 12 months between the minor leagues and the massive leagues he posted a 1.02 ERA in 70.2 innings pitched – with nearly half of these innings coming within the large leagues.
With out Lowder, the Reds rotation would nonetheless embody Hunter Greene, Nick Martinez, Brady Singer, and two of the next: Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, #2 prospect Chase Petty, or maybe later within the 12 months – #2 total decide in 2024’s draft and the crew’s prime prospect – Chase Burns.
It might definitely be an fascinating commerce for each golf equipment. The Athletics, not sure about the place they are going to be enjoying for a number of years and are caught enjoying in a minor league ballpark within the quick time period in Sacramento, aren’t seemingly going to be discovering too many prepared free brokers to enroll and play for them in the event that they’ve acquired different cheap choices on the desk. Including a younger starter like Lowder would increase their pitching employees. For Cincinnati they’d doubtlessly be buying and selling from a energy (with the caveat being you could by no means, ever have sufficient pitching) and probably fill their largest weak spot.
