Cincinnati Reds Trade Deadline Reaction

I wish the deadline was today, because it would mean that the Reds could still make some moves. What do you make of everything the Reds did and didn't do yesterday? So what the Reds did was they listened to every offer out there. And the fact of the matter is there weren't many offers for their talent. And when everybody asked, why couldn't the Reds get anything done? The answer is pretty simple. And it's a harsh one, but it's simple. And that is their talent wasn't good enough to really facilitate a lot of calls from other clubs. And when that's the case, you have to take a look inside your operations as to, are we not building the roster the way we should? A lot was made of the fact that the Reds remade their bullpen. How much did we hear about the Reds remaking the bullpen coming into the season? A lot. We did. Well, as it turned out, they were overused at the start of the year. In the first month, they were good, but they were overused. And when your starters aren't going long in the games, your bullpen gets exposed for better or worse. And in the Reds case, unfortunately, it was for worse. And they didn't have any takers for guys like Pierce Johnson or Brock Burke, which I was surprised. I think there was an assumption inside the Reds front office that somebody would be interested in Brock Burke. It didn't turn out that way. So I was surprised at the deadline yesterday that the Reds couldn't pull off maybe one or two more deals. But when you take a look at their approach on a guy like Brady Singer, who's going to be valuable coming down the stretch to protect Chase Burns, we can get into that. It makes more sense the more you step back, step away, and look at it. How much does the lack of organizational depth at those two positions for the rentals, Singer at starting pitching, Tyler Stevenson at catcher, affect the Reds' plans at the deadline in terms of moving those guys? Well, I think the Reds are going to probably stick with Singer. I think they're pretty happy with their starting pitching depth at the major league level. They're very happy. That's one thing that Nick Kroll made very clear, Jacob, yesterday, is that they're happy with the fact that you've got, at the top, you've got Chase Burns, Hunter Green. They still believe in Nick Lodolo. That was another thing that I found interesting from Monday's session with Nick Kroll post-trade deadline. They have Andrew Abbott. Probably Rhett Louder is in their starting pitching plans, or at least certainly competing for a spot in 27. And I think Singer is a guy that you're going to lean on as Chase Burns approaches an innings limit in late August, September. They don't have to burn out Chase Burns, especially if the Reds are out of any postseason contention. So you bring up Chase Burns. Do you think that innings limit could get into September? Because we've kind of been discussing, when do we think it's going to hit? We estimate maybe around the 125 mark. Do you think we could see him into September? Because that would be kind of a welcome sight here at the desk. Well, I think sure. They would let him go to a point where he's comfortable and where they feel like he's not endangering himself to long-term shoulder fatigue, like you saw with Brandon Williamson this year. And he's somebody else who could figure prominently in their plans if the Reds are out of it in August and September. But I think they're going to protect Chase Burns. This is all about protecting Chase Burns, not exposing him to innings that really accomplish nothing. Yes, they would love to see him win the Cy Young. And he's certainly in that conversation. I don't think there's any question about that. But in terms of what they're going to do with Chase Burns, I think they're going to monitor that very closely. Yeah, I think so, too. And I thought we were going to have, when I text you to come on, I thought we were going to have eight moves to react to. But instead, we're going to switch gears and talk a lot of football. Yes, well, one more thing on the Reds. All right. There's a lot of people surprised that Tyler Stevenson didn't get moved. And I think the fact that he's regarded as more of a pure bat and not a guy that can handle the pitching staff as strongly as maybe a veteran, a more veteran, defensive-minded catcher who teams are looking for coming down the stretch. I think that factored in as well as with Tyler staying here. Meanwhile, the Yankees, who needed a catcher, have all defensive catchers and no one that can hit. Case in point. I know, man, I get it. It's interesting to see. By the way, I thought I was very impressed with the way Tyler Stevenson handled himself after the game on Sunday. Look, Tyler Stevenson is beloved in that clubhouse, and for good reason. The teammates really, really like him. The Reds will enjoy having him for the final two months of his contract and then see what free agency holds. Do you think he's back? 50-50. 50-50? They're going to need a catcher, James, who can hit. The bridge to Alfredo Duno and Jose Trevino is nice, but I think they'd love to have Tyler Stevenson back for another year.