The Cincinnati Reds were methodical at the trade deadline. While defensive ace Ke'Bryan Hayes, middle-of-the-rotation starter Zach Littell and outfielder Miguel Andujar weren't among the biggest names dealt last week, they all fill a need in Cincy and when they all combine to help win games like they did on Tuesday night... it's hard not to get a little excited about the upstart Legs.
Littell threw seven innings of one-run ball against one of the league's best offenses, Andujar tallied two hits and two runs scored, and Hayes did stuff like this all night long:
No glove needed for Ke'Bryan Hayes! pic.twitter.com/EERgXj9C2M
— MLB (@MLB) August 6, 2025
The Reds have now taken two straight off the Cubs and will go for the sweep tomorrow with Andrew Abbott on the mound. Sitting at 60-53 on the year, Cincy has gained two games on the Mets and Padres in the past two days, who both dropped the first two games of their series' against the Guardians and Diamondbacks, respectively.
With about 50 games remaining, the Reds might be well-positioned for a late run.
Mets might need to watch over their shoulders for the Reds
The Philadelphia Phillies have kicked things into high gear, so the NL East door might be shutting on the Mets. It's only a 3.5-game lead for the Phils in the division, so the Mets surely aren't out of it, but the focus should be on making the playoffs at all — winning the division would obviously be nice, but it's not the priority.
The Padres, who are tied with the Mets after winning on Tuesday, made every move possible at the deadline and the Mets obviously can't forget about them. If the Padres overtake the Mets, the next team in the standings is the Reds.
Not too long ago it felt like the Mets and Padres were just competing to see which team gets the No. 2 Wild Card and which team gets the No. 3. But with the Reds potentially surging into the picture... it now might be a three-horse race for two playoff spots.
Reds made the unflashy but productive trade deadline moves
Nobody in Cincinnati seemed to love the Ke'Bryan Hayes deal, then everyone watched him play third base for like three days and changed their minds. No, he's not a plus-hitter. In Pittsburgh, that was a problem because... well, pretty much no one over there is a plus-hitter. But in Cincinnati, where he's surrounded by some more offensive talent, Hayes doesn't need to be great at the dish. Other guys can pick up his slack, and if Hayes is still performing defensively like he did tonight, he's clearly a positive impact player. In fact, he only played in the seventh inning onward on Tuesday and still showed exactly why the Reds traded for him.
There's a little juice with this team right now and my gut (which is wrong often, mind you) tells me the NL Wild Card race gets a little chaotic in the next month and a half.