Reds wrap Deadline with focus on both present and future

CINCINNATI -- The Reds seemed more like sellers than buyers ahead of Tuesday's Trade Deadline. But that wasn't how it was viewed by president of baseball operations Nick Krall.

“It was more about trying to thread the needle and do both as opposed to just buy or sell," Krall said before the Reds beat the Cubs, 6-3, at Great American Ball Park. “Our goal is not to just dismantle this team. We did that in ’22 when we had to go through a full rebuild. This was about, ‘Hey, how can we continue to push forward right now, but also look at it from a long-term outlook?’”

On Monday, Cincinnati acquired first baseman Ty France after he was designated for assignment by the Mariners. But two key veteran members of the Reds' pitching staff departed in separate trades on Tuesday.

The second such deal came when reliever Lucas Sims was sent to the Red Sox for Minor League pitcher Ovis Portes.

TRADE DETAILS
Red Sox receive: RHP Lucas Sims
Reds receive: Single-A RHP Ovis Portes

On Monday night, the Reds agreed to deal veteran starting pitcher Frankie Montas to the division-rival Brewers for outfielder Joey Wiemer, reliever Jakob Junis and $1 million in cash. Wiemer, in particular, is under club control through 2028. That trade became official on Tuesday morning.

Both Sims and Montas will be free agents after the season.

“Selling the bullpen piece of this, I get it, it’s selling," Krall said. "But at the same time, you’re getting something for your player as opposed to getting nothing for him at the end of the day and getting salary relief. I’d much rather do that.

“With Montas, being able to get a long-term and a short-term asset was extremely important. It does look like a sell on paper. But at the same time, we got two guys back that can help both this year’s club and one that can help in the future and be a very productive player.”

The Reds' bullpen is loaded with several relievers who are out of options. Two more veteran relievers, Emilio Pagán and Ian Gibaut, are expected to be activated soon from the injured list.

"We knew we would have to make a move over the next week or so," Krall said. "Being able to get something for [Sims] vs. just losing him or somebody else on waivers, we thought this was the best idea.”

Two smaller trades were executed just before the Deadline expired. Outfielder Austin Slater, infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations went to the Orioles for a player to be named later. Slater was with Cincinnati for only three weeks after he was acquired from the Giants on July 7 for lefty reliever Alex Young.

The Reds also acquired infielder Davis Wendzel from the Rangers for cash.

Other potential trades were negotiated but didn't reach the finish line. In recent days, the Reds even looked at adding a starting pitcher with more years of club control than Montas.

“There were one or two that we thought we were getting close," Krall said of possible moves. “Teams decided to go in a different direction. They liked the offer somewhere else better.”

The Reds spent more than $100 million in the offseason to supplement a young and exciting core of talent. It had the club entering 2024 feeling bullish about contending for the playoffs. But at 52-55 and 4 1/2 games back from the final National League Wild Card spot, they have underperformed for much of the season while also dealing with multiple key player injuries -- namely Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and TJ Friedl.

A deeper sell was determined as not the way to go. That's why reliever Nick Martinez, second baseman Jonathan India and others on shorter-term deals remained in Cincinnati.

"We could have traded three or four more relievers if we really wanted to and go down that road," Krall said. "But this team right now has a positive-41 run differential [entering Tuesday]. We haven’t won the games we should have won. We do have a shot. … We want to be able to at least give this team a shot to push towards the postseason.”

The Reds would have to jump past several clubs to get into the postseason. To do that, they need to do something that they haven't done much of: get on a sustained roll and play consistently well -- especially offensively.

"Obviously, losing those pieces is tough and we’ll miss those guys a lot," Friedl said. "I hope nothing but the best for them and what the future holds. In this clubhouse, we’re going to continue to just do what we can one game at a time and treat every day and every game like a must-win, because at this point it is.”

The Reds also need to start winning close games. So far, their record in one-run games is 9-20. With different outcomes, perhaps Cincinnati would have added more than it subtracted.

“The story will be told at the end of the season," Reds manager David Bell said. "We have two months of baseball with the group that I believe in. That’s not going to change.

“I’m focused on what we do the rest of the way. When it’s all over, then we’ll know the story.”