Nick Lodolo's strong season should silence Reds' trade deadline talk

The Cincinnati Reds' strength this season has been their starting rotation. When healthy, Hunter Greene has looked the part of ace, Andrew Abbott has been excellent and should be in the Cy Young conversation, while Nick Martinez and Brady Singer have been solid, if unspectacular.

Then, somewhere between his four rotation mates, lies Nick Lodolo. He raced out of the gates this season, but he hasn't maintained that pace, and currently resides in a clear third-place among Cincinnati's regular starters.

With Chase Burns' debut on Tuesday, and the Reds' offense sorely lacking a power punch beyond Elly De La Cruz, suggestions of Lodolo becoming a trade piece have begun to percolate. If Cincinnati is going to make a deep postseason run in 2025, though, Lodolo needs to remain in town.

Reds starter Nick Lodolo should not go anywhere at the MLB trade deadline

Lodolo's strikeout numbers have dropped off in a major way since the 2023 campaign. This leads to the claim he has become a less effective pitcher. Lodolo's strikeout rates are the lowest of his career. But so are his walk rates. And together, those indicate Lodolo has taken the mound with a new approach in 2025.

Essentially, Lodolo is sacrificing strikeouts to go deeper into games. His nine quality starts are a career-high and are tied for 10th-most in MLB. In comparison, Abbott, with his masterful outing yesterday, now has five such starts. Martinez (7) and Singer (6) each have more.

Lodolo's apparent changes have also come at no real cost. His 3.63 ERA is lower than his career-best mark (3.66). His 3.97 FIP is in line with that of 2022 (3.90) and 2024 (3.95), his other seasons of 10-plus starts. And his WHIP (1.12) is a career-best. So while Lodolo doesn't look like the same player he was in the past, he hasn't been worse. Some might even argue that he's been better.

For years fans begged Cincinnati's front office to take a real step toward sustainable postseason contention. How is trading Lodolo in the next month a change in that mentality? Exploring a deal centered around Lodolo in the offseason makes sense. Rushing to do one now does not.

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