Reds: 4 trade proposals with the Tigers to improve the bullpen

The Cincinnati Reds got some bad news on Friday when they learned Tejay Antone would be sidelined for at least the 10-day minimum with inflammation in his right forearm. Even before the injury to their bullpen ace, it’s become apparent that if the Reds hope to contend in the NL Central, they need to shore up their relief corps. The Detroit Tigers may be able to help.

Tigers GM Al Avila, via The Athletics’ Cody Stavenhagen said, “we (Tigers) can’t ignore if we have a trade that can make us better for next year and maybe even for the rest of this year, we’ve got to consider that.” It’s no surprise that Detroit will be looking more towards the future than the present, and our friends over at Motor City Bengals have taken a look at some of their top trade candidates.

While some fans would argue that the Reds should employ a similar strategy, the truth is that Cincinnati is just a game below .500 and five games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs who are tied atop the division. So, with an eye toward improving the bullpen, who could be a target for the Reds and what might they have to give up?

1. The Reds could trade for former Tigers’ All-Star Joe Jimenez.

Now, one look at Joe Jimenez’s stat line, and an overwhelming majority of Reds Country will immediately roll their eyes at the idea of making a deal for the former All-Star. Yes, Jimenez’s 9.28 ERA is not pretty, nor are the 15 walks the right-hander has allowed this season.

But, in 10.2 innings of work, Jimenez has also struck out 14 batters and the native of Puerto Rico has only allowed one home run all season. His 0.84 HR/9 is a drastic improvement from what we’ve seen the past two seasons and looks very similar to the numbers we saw when Jimenez went to the All-Star Game in 2018.

Landing Jimenez may not take much. In fact, a controllable corner outfielder like Mark Payton may be enough to sway Detroit into a deal. However, since the Reds are desperate for anything that may help their beleaguered bullpen, perhaps an additional low-level minor league prospect would allow Tigers’ GM Al Avila to pull the trigger.

Joe Jimenez is controllable through the 2023 season and is currently on a one-year deal that’s paying him $1.5M. Jimenez has two minor-league options remaining, so if he struggles mightily, the Reds could send him to Triple-A Louisville. The absolute worst-case scenario would be that it just doesn’t work out and Cincinnati non-tenders Jimenez this winter.

2. The Reds could land Tigers’ lefty Daniel Norris in a trade.

The left-handers in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen have been anything but reliable this season. The self-proclaimed closer, Amir Garrett, has the worst ERA among active reliever on the Reds at this moment, and Sean Doolittle hasn’t faired much better. While Daniel Norris might not be a reliable arm either, it would David Bell another option.

Norris is one year removed from putting up solid numbers in relief. After starting 29 games in 2019, the southpaw came out of the Tigers’ bullpen last season and posted a 3.25 ERA over 27.2 innings of work. Norris held left-handers to a .154 batting average last season and only two of the 26 left-handed batters he faced recorded an extra base hit.

This season hasn’t been as kind to Daniel Norris, as he’s allowed a .766 OPS-against when facing left-handed batters. Norris has, however, matched his career-best in terms of strikeout-rate (25.5%) according to FanGraphs.

Norris would be a one-year rental. The southpaw is in the final year of arbitration eligibility and signed a one-year/ $3.48M contract this past offseason. That would allow the Reds to acquire Norris for basically peanuts. Like the aforementioned Joe Jimenez, a minor league prospect or even a player to be named later may be enough to secure Norris’ services.

Instead of a straight player-for-player swap, perhaps the Reds and Tigers could do something similar to what we saw Cincinnati do this past season with the Colorado Rockies. The Reds sent Robert Stephenson and minor league prospect Jameson Hannah to the Rockies in exchange for Jeff Hoffman and pitching prospect Case Williams.

Might the Tigers be willing to take flyer on center field prospect Mariel Bautista? Bautista recently got promoted to Double-A Chattanooga after posting a 123 wRC+ and .813 OPS at Advanced-A Dayton. In addition, the Reds could send Cionel Perez to Detroit as well.

In exchange, maybe the Tigers brass could be swayed into including pitching prospect Zack Hess in the deal. Hess is former seventh-round pick currently working at Advanced-A West Michigan. The towering (6-foot-6, 220-pound) right-hander is working on increasing his velocity and could serve as middle reliever in the big leagues if he irons some things out in the minors.

3. The Reds and Tigers could work out a trade for Jose Cisnero and prospects.

Let’s take a look at a trade proposal that could be mutually beneficial for both the Cincinnati Reds and the Detroit Tigers. Jose Cisnero is currently on a one-year/$970K contract and is under team-control for two more seasons. The right-hander has a 30.3% strikeout-rate this season with 35 punch outs in 26.2 innings of work.

While the aforementioned deals for Daniel Norris and Joe Jimenez would be essentially trying to capture lightning in a bottle, dealing for Cisnero could be an impact trade that would certainly move the needle and give David Bell a much needed addition to the Cincinnati bullpen.

However, the Reds could also make a bold play and try to secure a few more arms as well. With Detroit looking to the future and Cincinnati looking at the present, the two teams could add a few more names to this trade deal that could see both squads benefit.

Would the Tigers be willing to part with former first-round pick Beau Burrows. No longer in the team’s long-term plans to be part of the starting rotation, the right-hander could be an additional arm in the Cincinnati pen. Burrows has two minor league options remaining, and he could be nice project for Kyle Boddy and pitching coach Derek Johnson.

In addition, perhaps the Tigers could also throw in reliever Bryan Garcia. The 26-year-old is 1-1 on the season with a 4.70 ERA. Garcia does not even become arbitration eligible until 2023. The right-hander could carve out some sort of role in Cincinnati’s bullpen.

In return, the Reds may have to give up on some of their better prospects. Christian Roa comes to mind. The former second-round pick is an advanced arm that Detroit could add to their minor league stable. Cincinnati has a lot of depth at the position, and sacrificing a possible starter for immediate bullpen help may be necessary.

In addition, the Reds could throw in the duo of Bren Spillane and Debby Santana. Both are power-hitting corner outfielders, currently in the lower level of Cincinnati’s farm system. Spillane and Santana may both find their way into a corner outfield role in the future, but if the Reds want to shore up their bullpen, it may cost them some of their better minor league talent.