Cardinals intra-division trade with Brewers might have Reds asking what if

The dust from the 2026 trade deadline has finally settled. Those who were on the move a little over two weeks ago are beginning to feel comfortable in their new digs, although the players in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse wouldn't know much about that.

The Reds were eerily quiet at this year's trade deadline despite most fans and pundits believing they were in prime position to sell. Cincinnati had a number of rentals that could've been traded before August 3, but when all was said and done, the Reds did little more than trade Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson for a low-level prospect and some international bonus pool money.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but with Cincinnati's already slim playoff odds drifting below 1%, one has to wonder what deals might've been available if Nick Krall and the Reds front office, you know, actually tried.

You might not have to step too far outside the NL Central to see what could've been. The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers worked out an intra-division trade with one another that could've easily featured two of the Reds' most tradable assets.

Should the Reds have traded Brady Singer to the Brewers?

The Cardinals and Brewers worked out a trade before the August 3 that sent Dustin May and JoJo Romero to Milwaukee. In return, St. Louis received two outfield prospects — Alexander Frias and Carson Ragsdale. Both players were ranked among the Brewers top-15 organizational prospects, and now rank 4th and 11th, respectively, in the Cardinals' pipeline.

Frias was a highly-regarded international signee just last year and has a combined .960 OPS in the minors this season. Ragsdale has an OPS approaching 1.000 on the year to go along with 21 home runs, 55 RBI, and 31 stolen bases.

It's always hard to piece together a one-for-one comp, but it seems as though the Reds should've been able to get a similar trade package if they decided to ship Brady Singer and Caleb Ferguson to the Brewers at the deadline.

Both May and Singer are on expiring contracts, have similar strikeout and walk numbers on the year, and eerily similar salaries. May is arguably having the better season, but Singer's rocky start to the year skews his overall stats. Since the start of June, Singer has a lower ERA (3.62) and has issued fewer walks (3.13 BB/9).

Romero is a veteran lefty on an expiring contract with a 3.35 ERA on the year. Ferguson, who was actually dealt to the Cardinals at the deadline, has a slightly higher ERA (4.08) but a similar salary ($4.5 million).

Trading Singer would've signaled Cincinnati's intention to give up on the 2026 season — something most fans assumed was coming anyway. Instead, the Reds held on to the majority of their expiring contracts in an effort to make one last playoff push. That effort has yielded very little in terms of results, and it's left fans wondering what could've been.

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