Cincinnati Reds: Yankees acquisition may halt Scooter Gennett trade talks

The New York Yankees have been linked to Cincinnati Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett for weeks. After signing a shortstop, those rumors will likely stop.

No trade deal ever came about, but the Cincinnati Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett has come up quite a bit this offseason in trade rumors. With the New York Yankees signing recently released shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the Bronx Bombers pursuit of Scooter is likely to halt.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Yankees have agreed to a one-year deal with Tulowitzki for the league minimum. The 34-year-old Tulowitzki was released from the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this offseason and is still owed $38 million by his former team.

The deal will help New York solidify its infield in the wake of Didi Gregorius‘ season-ending injury Tommy John surgery. The Yanks had been in discussions about bringing in Manny Machado, but those talks will likely slow down, as Tulowitzki will be more than capable of holding down the shortstop position in New York.

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Earlier this offseason, it was reported that the Yankees were interested in trading for Scooter Gennett. The trade made sense to an extent, as the thought was New York could gain a relatively inexpensive infielder for one season while Gregorius recovered. Gleyber Torres could slide over to shortstop for the 2019 season and then back to second base when Gregorius returned in 2020.

That made perfect sense for New York, and honestly, it wouldn’t have been the worst trade for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have their No. 1 prospect Nick Senzel waiting in the wings to take over at second base. So why didn’t this trade ever gain much traction? Most likely due to the Yankees’ compensation to the Reds.

It was reported that the Yankees were willing to send starting pitcher Sonny Gray to the Reds in exchange for Gennett. That’s a lopsided trade if I’ve ever heard of one. Gennett hit over .300 last season and Gray had a 4.90 ERA in 23 starts. The salaries for next year would be comparable, but that’s about it.

We all know that the Cincinnati Reds are desperate for an upgrade to their starting rotation, but not at the expense of sacrificing their best hitter for a mediocre pitcher on a one-year contract. Kudos to the Reds for not pursuing that deal with New York.

It now appears the Yankees are all set around their infield and the idea of acquiring Gennett is likely gone. However, the Cincinnati Reds are still in the market for starting pitching and Gennett could find himself on the trade block if the right offer comes along.