Cincinnati Reds: With Adam Duvall finally starting to hit, is a trade coming?

Adam Duvall is not in the long-term plans for the Cincinnati Reds. With Duvall finally starting to swing the bat well, will trade offers be on the horizon?

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Duvall had been marred in a horrible slump to start the season. But lately, Duvall’s seen an uptick in his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. With Duvall finally starting to swing the bat well, will other teams be looking to trade for the Reds’ left fielder?

Adam Duvall is an easy target for critics this season. A lot of fans and pundits believed the Reds should have looked to move on from Duvall last season. So now, just as it was with Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier and others, it appears the Reds are one season too late in trading Duvall.

In the Reds’ defense, after slashing .245/.299/.489 over the past two seasons with 64 home runs and 202 RBIs, no one would have predicted that Duvall would struggle as mightly as he did to start the season.

Through the first 50 games of 2018, Duvall was slashing .177/.276/.399. However, over the past 10 games, Duvall is hitting .303 with 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 8 RBIs.

Why trade Adam Duvall?

So, if Duvall is finally starting to hit and the Reds are starting to win games, why upset the apple cart and trade away Adam Duvall? Well, the answer to that question is quite simple, Duvall is not part of the long-term plans for the Reds in the outfield.

The Reds have used a 4-man outfield rotation with Duvall, Jesse Winker, Billy Hamilton and Scott Schebler. Schebler and Winker both appear that they may be longer term solutions in the outfield than Duvall and Hamilton.

Winker has been crushing the ball of late during his rookie season, and Schebler, now in his third season in Cincinnati is having his best year yet. Schebler is batting .283 with a .355 on-base percentage and appears to be settling in quite well in the leadoff spot.

According to Sporting News, Duvall is drawing trade interest from other Major League teams. It’s anyone’s guess what Duvall could offer in return, but if trading him resulted in the Reds gaining an end of the rotation starter or a serviceable relief pitcher, that’s a win.

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Time will tell, but Adam Duvall should definitely be on the trade block when the MLB trade deadline approaches later next month. If he keeps improving his offensive numbers, Duvall will only increase his trade value.