How might Cincy kickstart the heart of their offense?

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CINCINNATI -- What should the Reds do to fix their season? It's not an easy question to answer.

The bad news is Cincinnati entered Sunday eight games under .500 at 22-30, and have toiled at or near the bottom of Major League Baseball in team batting while several hitters are mired in prolonged slumps. Thanks to Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Dodgers, they finally won their first series, and back-to-back games, in a month.

The good news? Although sitting in last place, the Reds are still in a position to stay in the playoff hunt. They're 8 1/2 games out of first place in a lackluster National League Central, and 4 1/2 games back for the third NL Wild Card berth. Beginning Monday, they play division rivals -- either the Cardinals or Cubs – in 10 of 13 games after playing in the division just once all season so far (April 8-10 vs. the Brewers). That means many more NL Central rivals as opponents are backloaded.

That offers a great opportunity to start gaining ground -- if they can get hot.

In 2023, the Reds were also in fifth place through 50 games at 21-29. At the time, Elly De La Cruz, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and other prospects weren't yet called up. No such elite prospects are waiting in the wings to come up and add a spark in 2024.

If the Reds want to infuse some fuel to pick up their offense, it will have to come from players not currently on the active roster. Here are what I view as three options:

Keep it basic
Most of the season has seen the Reds shorthanded without some key players. They could simply keep hanging in there until they get healthy. TJ Friedl (fractured right thumb) is swinging a bat again and should be the first to return. Encarnacion-Strand (fractured right hand) is likely after that. Noelvi Marte is serving an 80-game suspension because of his use of performance-enhancing drugs. If there are no schedule changes, like a rainout, Marte is eligible to return on June 27, when the Reds are at St. Louis.

Matt McLain (left shoulder surgery) remains on a timetable for a possible return in August. But shoulder injuries are tricky so that's tough to fully gauge.

Of course, there are risks in just waiting. Friedl, who opened the season with a fractured left wrist, has played only six games. Encarnacion-Strand has mostly been cold at the plate this season. And Marte had only 35 games of experience in the big leagues last year, and who knows how he will handle the stigma of his suspension.

Use prospect capital
The Reds have four Top 100 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, and several attractive prospects below the Double-A level. When the Padres acquired Luis Arraez from the Marlins earlier this month, San Diego sent four Minor Leaguers to Miami -- including three of its Top 15 prospects.

President of baseball operations Nick Krall could use the organization's prospect capital to get a hitter, or hitters.

The extreme idea
The Reds could trade someone from their deep rotation for a slugger. They have depth here with Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott and Graham Ashcraft all under club control. Frankie Montas is only signed through 2024. Depth includes Nick Martinez, who has the ability to opt-out after this season and Brandon Williamson, who is still on the IL working back from a shoulder injury.

Then, there's Hunter Greene. Not only has Greene pitched better and better this season, the 24-year-old is signed to a team-friendly contract through 2028 and would provide a suitor club cost certainty. Krall could ask for the moon to move Greene, and might get it.

For ideas No. 2 or No. 3 to happen, or a combo of those, the Reds would likely have to feel they're a hitter or two away from a deep playoff run. Or they know they can't afford to waste the window they have to contend.

Including 2024, De La Cruz has five seasons of club control left. His agent is Scott Boras, who rarely does extensions. That probably means the trade rumors start intensifying in about 2 1/2 seasons when the return for a trade would be more robust than waiting until his walk year. Ditto for another Boras client, McLain.

Who might be available? MLB.com's Mark Feinsand recently reported several potential candidates.

The range of options goes from rental players like slugger Josh Bell of Miami to some doozies – like Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette or Houston's Alex Bregman. For the latter names, that would only happen if those clubs decided to rebuild. The cost to acquire them would be significant.

Regardless, the Reds have some things to mull in the coming weeks.