3 deals the Reds need to get done with 24 hours until the trade deadline

When your bullpen is ranked last in the league, you can never stop adding relief pitchers. The Major League Baseball trade deadline is just a short 24 hours away. At 4 PM ET on Friday, July 30th, all trades must be completed. So, who should the Cincinnati Reds add to their roster before time runs out?

Let’s take a moment and give Nick Krall some credit. Over the last couple of days, the Reds’ GM has added Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa, and Mychal Givens. That’s a nice haul considering all the team gave up was some low-level prospects and a player to be named later.

The additions of Wilson, Cessa, and Givens gives David Bell some major league-caliber relievers. Until now, the Cincinnati skipper had been treading water with pitchers like Josh Osich, Edgar Garcia, Jose De Leon, and Cionel Perez.

Some fans would argue that adding a shortstop at the trade deadline is imperative if the Cincinnati  Reds hope to catch the Milwaukee Brewers over the final two months of the season. However, I’d argue that Kyle Farmer’s .815 OPS since June 1st is reason enough to avoid sacrificing some young prospects for a two-month rental like Trevor Story.

Furthermore, Nick Senzel will be back in the Queen City very soon, and David Bell has already talked about getting the former first-round pick some time at shortstop. If that’s not good enough for you, how about giving Jose Barrero a chance at the big league level. The heir-apparent at the position is crushing the ball at Triple-A Louisville and is primed for a call-up.

Look, if the Reds could get a player like Story for there stretch run for little more than a low-level prospect, fine. But that is highly unlikely, and Story’s splits away from Coors Field (.185/.277/.376) are not that good. Let’s take a peak at three deals Cincinnati’s front office should make in the next 24 hours.

1. The Reds should trade for Nationals’ reliever Daniel Hudson.

The Reds still need to add another reliable reliever, and Daniel Hudson may be one of the more reliable bullpen arms remaining. The 34-year-old is in thee final season of his contract and will be a free agent at the end of the year. Hudson has a 2.20 ERA in 32.2 innings of work this season. Hudson is currently on the COVID-19 injured list, so availability may be delayed.

You may be asking, why in the world should the Reds trade for another reliever? Have you watched any of Cincinnati’s games this season. Look, I’m ecstatic that Nick Krall was able to land the trio of Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson, and Mychal Givens, but we’re talking about a bullpen that owns a 5.34 ERA.

Yes, Tejay Antone, Lucas Sims, and Michael Lorenzen are on the way back, but after seeing that trio of hurlers miss significant time this season, it’s hard to trust that the team’s bullpen as a whole will be healthy for the remainder of the season.

While this is Sims first trip to the IL this season, Lorenzen began the season on the 60-day IL, and this is Antone’s third trip to the injured list. The Reds need to add more depth to their bullpen, and pitchers like Jeff Hoffman and Sean Doolittle are expendable.

Daniel Hudson owns a 37.8% strikeout-rate this season and a 5.5% walk-rate. The Nats are sellers at this point, as Max Scherzer is likely to go prior to 4 PM on Friday. Trea Turner and others may be gone by tomorrow afternoon as well. Cincinnati needs a high-leverage reliever, and Hudson is certainly that. He’s owed approximately $2M over the final two months of the season.

3. The Reds should trade for Angels’ starter Andrew Heaney.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. In all honesty, if there’s one area of concern remaining for the Cincinnati Reds, it should be the starting rotation. Wade Miley has been brilliant this season, and Luis Castillo has rebounded nicely in the last two months, but the remainder of the Reds’ starting rotation is a crapshoot.

Sonny Gray, when he’s healthy, is as good as almost anyone in the Reds’ rotation. That said, Gray has struggled recently, and you have to wonder if he came back off the IL too quickly. Gray has a 14.63 ERA and just nine punch outs in his last two games that included eight innings of work, 14 hits, and five walks.

I’m a big fan of Tyler Mahle, but he’s been having a hard time getting through six or more innings this season. Mahle has made it past the sixth inning three times this season. He’s a grinder, but way too often, Mahle falls behind in the count or runs the count full, resulting in David Bell having to go to the bullpen early and often.

The fifth spot in the rotation currently belongs to Vladimir Gutierrez. We’ve seen the good and the bad from Gutierrez this season, and the Reds may need a more reliable arm down the stretch. Andrew Heaney could be that guy. Heaney is 6-7 in 18 starts with a 5.27 ERA. That’s not overly impressive by any stretch of the imagination, but his secondary markers might be.

Heaney has a 28.2% strikeout-rate a 4.05 FIP. His 20.4% K-BB% is also very impressive, but his 1.53 HR/9 is not. Heaney’s availability hinges on whether or not the Los Angeles Angels are buyers or sellers at the deadline. LA appears out of the race for the AL West, but are only five games back in the Wild Card.

Andrew Heaney is only owed about $2.2M for the remainder of the 2021 season and will become a free agent after the World Series. Heaney would be a nice addition to the back of the Reds’ rotation, and add some insurance in the event Sonny Gray sustains another injury. Also, as good as Wade Miley’s been, don’t forget that he fell off a cliff during the second-half in 2019’s run with the Houston Astros.

Alex Cobb, also of the Los Angeles Angels, is another name to keep an eye one. The right-hander has better numbers than his left-handed teammate and a cheaper salary. But, that means it’ll cost some higher-level prospects, which is something I don’t see the Cincinnati Reds doing for a pitcher that’s likely to give them no more than 10 starts for the remainder of the 2021 season.