The Reds were in the Kris Bryant derby
Despite the fact that the Cincinnati Reds were not the most active in the trading market, they are currently four games short of a playoff spot. No, they haven’t done a major barter, but it’s not for lack of trying.
Indeed, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Reds were in discussions to get their hands on Kris Bryant, just like the Tampa Bay Rays. The plan would have been to have him play at center fielder.
However, the Reds’ main shortcoming has been the shortstop position since the start of this campaign, a position where Bryant has only played three innings in the Majors so far in his career. So it probably wasn’t the best option for Ohio training.
It is for this reason that the Reds have also inquired about the availability of Trea Turner, without going far in the discussions. Ultimately, the two players did not land in Cincinnati, the team instead turning to the alternate enclosure with the acquisitions of Mychal Givens, Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson.
Javier Baez and Trevor Story could have been an avenue to evaluate, and they probably did, but the specter of autonomy at the end of the season for the two shortstop players surely weighed in the balance. It is not the habit of the house to do this on the transaction deadline.
In the end, the Reds are not in a bad position as they will see second baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Nick Senzel and Nick Castellanos return to the injured list shortly. The race for the best runner-up will therefore be interesting to follow until the end.
