Cincinnati Reds: 3 surprise non-tender candidates

3. Archie Bradley, Reds relief pitcher

This one all comes down to money. Will the Cincinnati Reds be able to reach a “pre-tender” deal with Archie Bradley, tender him a contract for the 2021 season, or non-tender last year’s trade deadline acquisition? I think Bradley is easily the biggest mark heading into today.

Bradley was acquired by Cincinnati from Arizona at the trade deadline. The Reds, in turn, sent Josh VanMeter and highly-rated outfield prospect Stuart Fairchild to the Diamondbacks. Bradley, in his final year of arbitration, is estimated by MLB Trade Rumors to make between $4.3-$5.7M.

Normally, you wouldn’t bat an eye at that number, but the coronavirus pandemic and loss of revenue has teams looking to save money this offseason. The Cincinnati Reds are committed to $100M+ in guaranteed contract heading into next season, and that does not include those players who are arbitration and pre-arbitration eligible.

If you look at the relief corp, assuming Michael Lorenzen remains in the bullpen, the quartet of he, Bradley, Amir Garrett, and Raisel Iglesias will account for approximately $19M next season. That means half of the Cincinnati bullpen will account for almost $20M. Yikes!

Archie Bradley is estimated to take home the biggest payday among the Reds up for arbitration. It’s hard to envision Cincinnati’s front office giving up on a trade acquisition after just six games, but the current economic climate could dictate that they do just that.