One Reds starter (not named Brady Singer) who could be traded at the Winter Meetings

With a surplus of starters, Brady Singer is probably the one pitcher the Cincinnati Reds want to move the most. Coming off a solid season, with one more year of team control and a projected arbitration salary that will be around $12 million, dealing Singer would accomplish a lot for Cincinnati.

They'd clear money they desperately need, return assets for a player who probably walks next offseason, and still keep the front of the rotation intact. Sounds perfect. But you need a partner in order to make a deal, and if no one steps up to the plate for Singer, the Reds could see him stick around into the regular season.

Therefore, a different starter might be the one who gets moved after all. The buzz around Hunter Greene being moved has been hot and cold at various points, but in his heart of hearts, it's hard to believe that Nick Krall truly wants to trade away his ace. Doing so might cause more harm than good anyway.

Andrew Abbott's 2025 breakout makes him too valuable to move. Trading Chase Burns would mean selling low. That leaves Nick Lodolo as the likeliest non-Singer trade option, and frankly, it isn't a bad idea.

Nick Lodolo is the most likely non-Brady Singer Reds starter to be dealt at the Winter Meetings

After a lengthy injury history prevented Lodolo's young career from ever taking off, the lanky lefty was finally (mostly) healthy in 2025. With the benefit of that health, he was also finally productive, posting a 3.33 ERA over 156⅔ innings pitched.

Therefore, Lodolo could be quite the draw if the Reds were to dangle him on the trade market. As a lefty, he has a little extra value for teams who are looking to balance their rotations. He's also affordable, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting a $4.3 million salary for him in arbitration. Lodolo is also gutsy, coming back from a groin injury to pitch in relief to try and propel the Reds into the playoffs.

That's a pretty compelling package, and if Cincinnati were able to swap him for a similarly priced and similarly controllable bat, it would be a dream.

Trading Lodolo now could also be viewed as selling high. With so many injuries in his past, his succumbing to the bumps and bruises in 2026 would ding his value moving forward. If he regresses back to the 4.76 ERA form he showed in 2024, that would tank his market as well.

Therefore, the Reds' best bet to land a talented, cheap, young hitter is dealing Lodolo, and in a world of risk management, trading him now while his value is high makes a ton of sense.