Nick Krall’s comments may have just removed one trade target from the Reds' radar

With the limited budget the Cincinnati Reds are working with this offseason, dealing from a strength — the starting pitching depth — to prop up the club's biggest weakness — pop in the outfield — seemed like the best course of action.

With that, there seemed to be a perfect target. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward is a hometown kid who just popped 36 dingers and is entering his final year of arbitration. The Reds and the Angels seemed to match up well for a deal, with Los Angeles desperate for competent starting pitching and the Reds having a surplus. Swapping Brady Singer's walk year for Ward's would've scratched that itch for both teams, and their projected arbitration salaries would've nearly canceled each other out.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right? Not quite. Nick Krall shot down any hopes of the Reds dealing from their surplus of starters at the GM Meetings, saying, “I’d prefer not to trade from our starting rotation because I think that’s our strength right now, and hopefully we can continue to build on top of that."

Nick Krall's latest comments likely take Angels outfielder Taylor Ward off of the Reds' radar

While Krall's comments are good news for keeping Hunter Greene in the fold, it sure feels like he's playing the game with the difficulty sliders turned all the way up. Having depth in the rotation is good, but with guys like Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson, and Rhett Lowder coming back from injury, as well as Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Chase Burns, Chase Petty, and others in the fold, it kind of seems like overkill to hang onto a mid-rotation starter like Singer who is likely to walk away next offseason. At a certain point, you've got to bend somewhere, right?

However, this twist could bring about a development that could work out even better for the Reds. They still match up in a trade with the Angels, but this time, for a different outfielder, and with a different return package going the Angels' way.

Not only are the Angels thought to be shopping Ward, but they're also rumored to have Jo Adell on the block. Adell might be an even better fit for Cincinnati. Not only is he nearly six years younger than Ward, who turns 32 next month, but Adell also comes with an additional year of team control, and is projected to make less than half of what Ward will get in arbitration at $5.5 million versus $13.7 million.

There's also an argument to be made that he's the better player. Adell was once the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America, but for a variety of reasons, he saw his development face some challenges.

The Angels decided to promote Adell to the big leagues as a raw 21-year-old in 2020 because of the cancellation of the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2020 and 2023, injuries and inconsistencies kept Adell from getting a regular shot, playing just 178 games over those four seasons.

However, his tools and athleticism have always been top-tier, with him posting 90+ percentile metrics in categories like bat speed, hard hit rate, and barrels year in and year out. As his playing time has gotten more consistent, so too has his ability to translate tools to actual production. This culminated with a 37-homer campaign in 2025.

Adell would give the Reds a higher ceiling player, and one they could perhaps extend for the long haul and let him grow alongside their young core. That will come at a higher cost, with Cincinnati likely having to dip into its prospect pool to get a deal done.

Still, it could be worth it, especially if you believe Adell can develop even further in 2026. It would be really nice if Krall were more amenable to keeping all of his options open in search of upgrades this winter.