Cincinnati Reds: 3 players who could be gone by the trade deadline

Matt Kemp, Outfielder

This idea has been kicked around all offseason. The Cincinnati Reds have an overcrowded outfield and the most likely candidate to find a new address is Matt Kemp. The three-time All-Star was part of the trade that brought Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, and Kyle Farmer to Cincinnati while shipping Homer Bailey to Los Angeles.

Kemp is a fine player, but at this stage of his career he’s better suited to be a designated hitter and fourth outfielder on an American League team. Kemp is currently being platooned with Jesse Winker in left field and I can only assume that the Reds would rather give the reps to their young, up and coming slugger rather than the aging veteran.

Don’t forget that the Reds still have Phillip Ervin and No. 1 prospect Nick Senzel in Triple-A Louisville. Senzel has been groomed all offseason to be this year’s starting center fielder and when he arrives, the Reds will need to find a spot for Scott Schebler.

I think Schebs is the perfect fourth outfielder for this team. He can play all three positions, has power from the left side, can hit leadoff or further down in the batting order as well. If any of the aforementioned outfielders happen to find themselves on the injured list, Phillip Ervin, like Schebler is capable of playing all three outfield positions too.

We all know that Kemp will not be part of the Cincinnati Reds organization going forward. He was the offsetting piece of the trade that allowed the Reds to move on from Homer Bailey. While it’s likely that any trade involving Kemp would require the Reds to eat an enormous piece of his salary, the $7M they received from the Dodgers will help ease the pain of that transaction.