3 possible trade scenarios for Reds outfielder Shogo Akiyama

2. Would the Reds trade Shogo Akiyama to the Athletics?

It would appear that the Oakland A's are on the verge of a full-on rebuild. Rather than take Oakland's approach, Cincinnati's front office seems intent on the idea of ridding themselves of bad contracts while trying to remain competitive.

Every other team in the AL West looks like a contender in 2022. The Houston Astros made it to the World Series again in 2021. The Texas Rangers went all-in with their free agent additions this offseason. The Seattle Mariners surprised everyone last season, and look to be a team on the rise. And the LA Angels have the two best players in baseball suiting up for them in 2022.

So, it would seem like as good a time as any for the Athletics to start a rebuild. Oakland missed out on the postseason last year after being in contention throughout a majority of the season. The A's finished 10 games above .500 but still missed the playoffs, and now their manager is off to San Diego.

The A's lost Starling Marte to the New York Mets during the offseason. One of Oakland's best players also landed in the Big Apple after Mark Canha signed a two-year pact with the Mets. Matt Olson, the A's Gold Glove-winning first baseman, may also be on the trade block.

Just was the case with the New York Yankees, one or more of the Cincinnati Reds minor league talents must be involved in order to seal the deal. While Nick Krall may want to avoid such a scenario, there's no other way Cincinnati will be able to rid themselves of Shogo Akiyama's $8M salary.