One deadline move Reds fans will regret by October

The inclusion of Taylor Rogers in the Ke’Bryan Hayes deal seemed confusing until the Cincinnati Reds acquired Tampa Bay Rays starter Zack Littell and shoved Nick Martinez back into a bullpen role.

Rogers, of course, was set to become a free agent in a few months, but Cincinnati had very publicly expressed a desire to improve the bullpen. Ultimately, trading the steady lefty may come back to haunt the Reds.

It actually didn’t take too long for the flaw in the trade to become apparent. Hayes committed a costly miscue during his first game in a Reds uniform, and Sam Moll, now one of just two southpaws in the ‘pen, allowed four earned runs in the back-and-forth loss. In the meantime, Rogers bopped from the Pirates to the Chicago Cubs, so the Reds will have to watch their former reliever help another contender (and division rival) make strides toward the postseason.

The Reds may regret trading left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers

Reds relievers have a 4.32 ERA against lefties, and the team just traded away one of the best lefty-lefty specialists. Over his career, Rogers has a .198/.278/.284 line against lefties.

Martinez and Luis Mey, who joined the bullpen after the trade, have a .232/.292/.408 and .188/.342/.234 line this year, respectively. (Mey’s stats include his time in the minors this season.) Moll has been a lefty stopper, but the bullpen feels a bit weaker heading into August.

Losing a pending free agent in exchange for a young player on a long-term contract still has its perks, though. The Reds could get some bragging rights over the division-rival Pirates if Hayes improves his offense. Perhaps that will take the sting out of Rogers suiting up for the Cubs.

The regret over dealing Rogers could reach a high point within the next week when the Reds travel to Wrigley Field with Wild Card placement on the line. The Cubs would be wise to deploy Rogers against his former club; the Reds are hitting just .220 against lefties this season.

Hayes and fellow deadline pickup Miguel Andujar may help Cincinnati avoid eating too much crowd, as they have a career OPS of .772 and .794 against southpaws.

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