Cincinnati Reds: A starter and prospects snagged in mock trade with Cubs

In the FanSided MLB simulated offseason, the Cincinnati Reds make a move to shore up their starting pitching. It didn’t come cheap though.

Every offseason, FanSided’s MLB division puts on a Mock Winter Meetings, where we, as site experts, get to pretend to take over the role of general manager for a week. There are several rules and guidelines to make all the moves and signings as realistic as possible. Essentially, Blog Red Machine will be playing the role of the Cincinnati Reds GM.

In an effort to improve the Reds starting pitching, Blog Red Machine made a mock trade with Cubbies Crib who represent the Chicago Cubs general manager. In a theoretical move that may not be too popular, the Cubs snagged Reds closer Raisel Iglesias in exchange for starting pitcher Mike Montgomery, left-handed prospect Justin Steele, and outfield prospect Brennan Davis.

Iglesias has been the Reds closer for the past two seasons. During that time he saved 58 games and struck out 172 batters with a 2.43 ERA and a WHIP of 1.088. Trust me, it was not an easy decision to send Iglesias out of town.

However, starting pitching does not come cheap, and several other faux GMs were hot and heavy after Iglesias. This mock trade allowed the Cincinnati Reds to bring back the most without sacrificing too much, as a lot of other mock trade offers were after some big name prospects as well.

Though Raisel Iglesias has been one of the better closers over the last two seasons, there is one number that skyrocketed from 2017-2018. Home runs allowed. Iglesias allowed only 5 round-trippers in 2017 but saw that number more than double to 12 in 2018. His HR9 increased from 0.6 to 1.5.

So, what did the Reds get in return? Mike Montgomery, who took over as a starter for the Cubs once Yu Darvish went down is the best get from this mock trade. Montgomery played 2 seasons for the Seattle Mariners before coming over to the Chicago Cubs during their World Series season in 2016. In fact, Montgomery was on the mound when the Cubs recorded their last out to win the Fall Classic.

Montgomery started 33 combined games over the last two seasons. Over his final 20 games of 2018, 19 of them starts, Montgomery went 5-5 with 3.65 ERA and only allowed 8 home runs. That’s a big deal for any pitcher who may come to Great American Ball Park. While Montgomery wouldn’t be a front-line starter, he could easily be No. 3 in the Reds rotation.

This mock trade also netted two Top 30 prospects from the Cubs farm system. Justin Steele (No. 8 prospect in the Cubs pipeline) gives the Reds a young left-hander to add to their rotation in the future. Scott Moss (No. 18 in the Reds pipeline) is currently the highest rated lefty prospect for the Cincinnati Reds.

Steele, who is slowly coming back from Tommy John surgery, can hit the upper-90’s with his fastball. He also possesses a nice curveball as part of his repertoire and has a lot of sinking action on his fastball that induces a lot of groundballs.

This theoretical trade also brought center field prospect Brennan Davis to the Queen City. Think Billy Hamilton. This kid is fast, like lightning fast. His plus-plus speed makes him a perfect fit in centerfield. He’s a ways away from a finished product and isn’t projected to make it to the Majors until 2022. However, his speed may dictate that he arrives even sooner.

So there you have it Reds Country. Blog Red Machine put on it’s GM hat and swung a mock trade for a mid-tier starter with three more years of team control. While giving up on Iglesias was not easy, it may be necessary for the Reds to compete in the coming years.