Cincinnati Reds: Scooter Gennett and Tanner Roark traded at deadline

The trade deadline has come and gone and a few fan favorites are no longer with the Cincinnati Reds. Scooter Gennett and Tanner Roark were traded today.

Well, the trade deadline has passed and the Cincinnati Reds have made a few moves over the past few days. Yasiel Puig and Taylor Trammell were officially traded today as part of a three-team deal that brought Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati. Just moments ago we learned that both Tanner Roark and Scooter Gennett are being traded as well.

Tanner Roark will be headed to the Oakland Athletics. The A’s made a trade with the Reds shortly before the end of today’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In return, the Reds will receive outfield prospect Jameson Hannah.

Hannah is a left-handed hitter who was drafted in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Oakland. In 92 games at Advanced-A this season, Hannah is slashing .283/.341/.381. Hannah was the No. 8 ranked prospect in the A’s farm system, according to MLB Pipeline, and will help cushion the blow of losing Taylor Trammell to the San Diego Padres.

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As a player on a one-year deal, Roark was always thought to be a potential trade candidate. The trade rumors became more of a reality once Alex Wood returned from injury. Last night’s trade for Bauer all but sealed the fate of the veteran right-hander who will now be pitching in the Bay Area.

The loss that’s a bit harder for Reds Country to swallow is that of hometown hero Scooter Gennett. Gennett etched his name into Cincinnati Reds lore back in 2017 when the left-handed slugger hit four home runs in one game, a team record.

This season couldn’t have started worse for Gennett, who suffered groin injury during the latter part of Spring Training. Gennett missed a few months with the injury and just returned to the Reds lineup before the All-Star break. On the season, Scooter is hitting .212 with 5 RBIs.

The increased playing time given to Josh VanMeter has given the Reds a clear replacement at second base should the team look to go in that direction. VanMeter is one of the hottest hitters on the team and can definitely man the position.

Another option is José Peraza. Scooter’s hot play during the 2017 season took the starting job away from Peraza and last year’s leader in hits was supposed to begin this season as the Reds starting shortstop. Gennett’s injury forced the Reds to move José Iglesias to shortstop and Peraza back to second base. A slow start to the season caused Peraza to lose his starting spot once again.

The Reds have yet to name the player that will be sent back to Cincinnati in exchange for Gennett, which makes this move a bit more curious. Most likely it’s a chance to give Gennett’s successor as much playing time as possible while also giving Gennett a chance to compete.

While we can argue all day about whether or not the Cincinnati Reds are now better or worse, one thing’s for sure, they did not sit idle at the trade deadline. Every move they made involved a player on a one-year deal who was unlikely to re-sign this offseason.