Cincinnati Reds Rumors – Drew Storen’s reunion may end soon

The Cincinnati Reds have fallen out of the National League Central race, putting Drew Storen’s spot in jeopardy.

With Zack Cozart on the DL the most tradable player on the Cincinnati Reds is relief pitcher Drew Storen.  Storen’s flexibility this season could be the very thing that drives him off of the team.  In a career spent mostly in the back end of a bullpen, Storen has shown he can shutdown the opponent at anytime.

Storen’s new found flexibility doesn’t change the two teams that are most likely to make a competitive offer for the right-hander.  The Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals both need late inning bullpen help.  The Nationals really need the help every where.

The Minnesota Twins are a in a vulnerable position because they also need another starter to realistically compete for a playoff spot.  Whether they get the reliever or starter first may be their primary discussion right now. Storen would slide in with Taylor Rogers as the set-up man for the Twins.

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The Nationals, meanwhile, clearly need a closer.  There bullpen has been inconsistent to awful all season long.  The Nationals, though, have been rumored to be trying to add another starting pitcher and looking at non-traditional options to solve their closer issue.

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Drew Storen was connected to the Cincinnati Reds before he even signed his contract this offseason.

By now many people know that Storen went to the same Indiana high school as catcher Tucker Barnhart.  They were teammates for two years at Brownsburg High.  Now they are together, but not for much longer.

Aside from this current day connection, Storen’s father was also a local television sports anchor in Indianapolis when Storen was young.  Back in those days, Indianapolis, and not Louisville, was the home to Reds’ Triple-A farm team.  Drew was able to hang out with the players as they progressed up through the system.

While it is a feel good story that Storen played catch with the Reds’ prospects, the real story is Storen’s own career.  The New York Yankees drafted him out of high school, but Storen decided to go onto Stanford.  Two years later the Washington Nationals drafted him in the first round beginning Storen’s professional career.

Next: Brandon Finnegan is back!

It initially appeared that he would share the closer’s role in Cincinnati with Raisel Iglesias.  Then it quickly became apparent that Storen was the Reds’ middle of the game closer.  That worked so well that Storen’s value increased in the mind of the other teams.  Now Storen can enjoy the rest of his time in Cincinnati before he leaves.