MLB Rumors: Salvador Perez interest, Reds deadline dilemma, Pete Alonso’s future
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Will the Cincinnati Reds buy or sell?
The Cincinnati Reds are streaking since the call up of top prospect Elly De La Cruz. De La Cruz, who has an electric combination of power and speed, has already become one of the best watches in the entire sport in just his rookie season.
De La Cruz’s accent makes the job of the Cincinnati Reds front office all the more difficult, however. The Reds have some attractive rental players they could trade at the deadline if fully out of contention, but the combination of recent winning ways with a mediocre NL Central makes the idea of selling hard deflating to a fanbase that has remained patient through the years.
The Reds rebuild, one would think, is nearing its completion. Trading away their best assets now when they could possibly contend in the Central will put the current front office in a precarious spot. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote about Cincinnati’s troubling deadline dilemma in a recent newsletter.
"“The promotions of infielder Elly De La Cruz and Andrew Abbott transformed an interesting team into the most exciting group in Cincinnati since the early 2010s and maybe even before that. The Reds are in third place in the Central, four games out of first. And the competition isn’t all that impressive…the momentum generated by De La Cruz, Abbott and the rest of the Reds’ upstart roster is not something management should take lightly.”"
If the Reds opt to buy at the deadline, pitching will likely be their main target, as the starting rotation has an ERA over five. Should they sell, Alexis Diaz is under team control for the next few years and already an elite closer. Teams will come calling either way.