Reds: 3 players Cincinnati could trade and still remain competitive

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CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 13: Tyler Naquin #12 of the Cincinnati Reds rounds third base. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

Are the Cincinnati Reds going to be buyers or sellers at the MLB trade deadline? Honestly, I don’t know. Regardless, Cincinnati has a few players the team could part with before the deadline and still remain competitive.

The key is for the Reds to make deals from a position of strength. Cincinnati has a surplus of outfielders on this year’s squad, and with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo climbing the minor league ranks, the starting rotation may be overflowing with talent very soon.

The Reds are still in the hunt for the National League Central Division crown. Every team in the division is deficient in some way, shape, or form. The Chicago Cubs don’t have a legitimate ace, the Milwaukee Brewers are 14th in the NL in OPS, the St. Louis Cardinals have been plagued by injuries to their starters, and the Cincinnati Reds have the worst bullpen in the league.

The Reds have to find a way to help their beleaguered bullpen if they hope to have any chance of winning of the division. Though parting with some of your better players is sometimes difficult, Cincinnati is not going to be able to retool their relief corp by dealing players that won’t help another team compete for a postseason berth. Who should the Reds be willing to part with in order to shore up the bullpen?

1. Tyler Naquin, Reds outfielder

Before the season began, Tyler Naquin seemed like a nice addition to a Cincinnati Reds team that needed an additional outfielder. Shogo Akiyama had missed time in spring training due to a family emergency and injury, and given Nick Senzel’s track record, having an extra outfielder in the mix was a solid addition.

However, few expected to see Tyler Naquin break out and lead the team in RBIs. Naquin has a .786 OPS, 11 doubles, 11 home runs, and 43 RBIs on the season. That type of production and a .480 slugging percentage against right-handed hitters could be a boost to a team in need of left-handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions.

Nick Senzel will be back after the All-Star break, but until then, the combination of Aristides Aquino (right-handed hitter) and Shogo Akiyama (left-handed hitter) could hold down the fort in center field. The Reds need to sell high on Naquin, who hasn’t played more than 89 games since his rookie season in 2016.

CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 07: Wade Miley #22 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

2. Wade Miley, Reds starting pitcher

One could argue that Wade Miley has been the Cincinnati Reds best starting pitcher this season. After all, Miley owns the best ERA (2.88) among all Reds starters, he’s tied with Tyler Mahle for the team’s best WHIP (1.09), and opposing batters are hitting just .212 against him. Oh yeah, he also threw a no-hitter earlier this season.

Be that as it may, Wade Miley is not in the long-term plans for the Reds starting rotation. Heck, with the exception of Mahle and Vladimir Gutierrez, none of the Cincinnati starting pitchers may be in the team’s long-term plans.

Cincinnati recently promoted Hunter Greene to Triple-A Louisville, and it’s suspected that Nick Lodolo won’t be far behind. The Reds have already promoted Gutierrez and Tony Santillan to the big leagues this season, and former second-round pick Lyon Richardson is a good bet to make his MLB debut in the coming years.

If Sonny Gray returns healthy, Luis Castillo continues to right the ship, and Tyler Mahle asserts himself as the team’s ace, you could make the argument that Wade Miley is expendable. Coming into the season, Miley was thought to be the team’s No. 4 starter.

The lefty is under a team-friendly contract with a $10M option for next season. Seeing as how Cincinnati seems ready to hand the reins over to the young guns, it would make sense to part with the affable Miley prior to the July 30th trade deadline. Plenty of teams will be looking for a starting pitcher to boost their rotation, and Miley certainly fits that mold.

CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 10: Tucker Barnhart #16 of the Cincinnati Reds walks back to the dugout. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

3. Tucker Barnhart, Reds catcher

This one is extremely debatable. Even I struggled to write Tucker Barnhart‘s name down. But the fact of the matter is that Barnhart is 30 years old and his contract is up at the end of the season. Barnhart has a $7.5M team option that I have a hard time seeing the Cincinnati Reds pick up given that Tyler Stephenson has shown himself capable of playing behind the plate.

There is no debate that from a defensive standpoint, Barnhart is the superior catcher. Fans cannot expect Stephenson, in only his rookie season, to best Barnhart in terms of his ability to work with the pitchers, call a game, or handle the position defensively. Barnhart is among the best in the game and may be on his way to a third Gold Glove.

That said, Tyler Stephenson is the better hitter and it’s not even close. In roughly the same number of games and about 20 fewer at-bats, Stephenson leads Barnhart in home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Barnhart does have five more doubles that Stephenson and has racked up four more RBIs.

Now, where moving on from Tucker Barnhart becomes complicated is the team’s depth at catcher. The Reds don’t have any. Sure, Kyle Farmer could don the tools of ignorance for a game or two, but that would remove Cincinnati’s best defensive player from the infield.

Beau Taylor would probably the Reds’ best option, and though he owns an .802 OPS this season at Triple-A Louisville this season, Taylor’s brief stint in the major leagues yielded a batting average of just .118 and a .492 OPS.

Next. 3 trades that would fix the Reds' broken bullpen

Moving on from Tucker Barnhart would mean Tyler Stephenson becoming the Cincinnati Reds full-time backstop. If the front office and coaching staff are ready to make that commitment, then trading Barnhart becomes a difficult, yet necessary decision. There are an ample number of teams who’d be willing to give up some talented pitchers in order to land Barnhart’s services.

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