Cincinnati Reds: Grading 2020 trade deadline deals

Archie Bradley could supplant Raisel Iglesias as the Reds closer.

Now, this was a move I can get behind. Yes, the Reds hitting has not been up to par this season, but the Cincinnati bullpen has offered no consistency outside of Lucas Sims and Amir Garrett. Adding Archie Bradley to the mix will hopefully change that. The right-hander has all the tools to be a dominant pitcher late in games.

Bradley was the Arizona Diamondbacks first-round pick in 2011, the same year they took current Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer. Bradley has a wicked fastball and an above-average 12-6 curveball. The right-hander was the D-Backs No. 1 overall prospect in 2014 according to MLB Pipeline.

The D-Backs gave Bradley a chance to start in 2015, and the former first-rounder went 2-3 I night starts with a 5.80 ERA. The following season didn’t go much better for Archie Bradley and the Oklahoma native was moved to the bullpen in 2017. Since then, Bradley has thrown in 70-plus innings the last three seasons and had a 2.95 ERA heading into the 2020 season.

In exchange for Bradley, the Reds shipped utility player Josh VanMeter and outfield prospect Stuart Fairchild to the Diamondbacks. While VanMeter was an easy player to root for, he seemed lost this season, as evidence by his .059 batting average. After signing Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos last winter, any chance VanMeter of being a regular in the Reds lineup vanished.

Stuart Fairchild is a solid outfielder, but as mentioned earlier, Cincinnati has plenty of them. One could easily make the case that Andy Suglio or TJ Friedl offer a similar profile, and both appear ready to make the jump to the bigs if needed.

Analysis: This trade makes sense. With Michael Lorenzen off his game to begin the 2020 season, the Reds needed another reliable right-hander in the bullpen. What will be interesting is to see who David Bell turns to with the game on the line in the ninth inning; Raisel Iglesias or Archie Bradley?

Grade: B+