Reds rumors: Nick Senzel’s name is on the trade market

After signing Nicholas Castellanos, it’s no wonder the latest Reds rumors involve another outfielder. The team is said to be considering trading Nick Senzel.

It was only a matter of time before the latest Reds rumors began to circulate. Shortly after the Cincinnati Reds reportedly agreed to a four-year deal with Nicholas Castellanos, Jon Heyman, an insider at MLB Network took to Twitter with an interesting report. According to Heyman, the Reds have discussed trading Nick Senzel.

This should not come as a shock, as the Castellanos signing makes an already crowded outfield appear to be bursting at the seams. Cincinnati has six capable outfielders with Castellanos, Senzel, Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino, Phillip Ervin and Shogo Akiyama.

You can bank on Castellanos and Akiyama getting regular at-bats, and one would think the same goes for Senzel if he’s on the team in 2020. Winker has been a regular in the Reds lineup for the past two seasons, but has finished 2018 and 2019 on the injured list. Ervin has been a rotational outfielder, but shows promise. Then there’s Aquino, who won Player of the Month last August.

Now, these are rumors, and just because Senzel’s name has been floated about, it doesn’t mean that Cincinnati is “shopping” last year’s rookie. Furthermore, a player with Senzel’s ability will not be traded just to open a roster spot and declutter the outfield. Senzel is a former first-round pick who could be packaged with other prospects to bring an elite-level shortstop to the Queen City.

To be honest, that’s the only scenario in which I see Senzel being deal. If the Cleveland Indians want to re-open the bidding for Francisco Lindor, Senzel would be a prime candidate to be included in a potential deal. If the Los Angeles Dodgers want to send Corey Seager to Cincinnati, perhaps a third team could enter the negotiations. Otherwise, it’s a hard-pass from me on dealing Senzel.

In his rookie season last year, Nick Senzel made the change from infielder to outfielder. A third baseman by trade, Senzel spent the majority of his minor league career bouncing between second and third base. Last year, in an effort to get Senzel into the lineup, the Reds converted him to a centerfielder. The results were mixed, but he wasn’t not an atrocious defensively.

If these latest Reds rumors are true, one has to believe Cincinnati’s front office has at least one more move up it’s sleeve. Dick Williams and Nick Krall have owned the offseason and perhaps there’s one more move that could put the Reds, not just into the discussion for a division title, but the National League pennant.