Horrid stretch by Reds' starters proves Nick Krall bungled the trade deadline again

Reds fans were incredibly frustrated last summer when the MLB trade deadline came and went and the lone addition to Cincinnati's roster was left-handed reliever Sam Moll. Nothing against Moll, but the Cincinnati Reds were in the middle of the playoff hunt and had a rather obvious need — starting pitching.

But Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall stood pat at the deadline, preferring to stick with the likes of journeyman starter Luke Weaver and rookies Brandon Williamson and Andrew Abbott. But, as the Reds entered the dog days of summer, the team was unable to overcome injuries, and starters were going well past the number of innings they'd ever thrown before. Ultimately, the Reds fell short of their playoff aspirations during the final week of the 2023 season.

While the narrative is a bit different this season, the results are the same. Krall and Co. failed to upgrade the Reds' starting rotation at the MLB trade deadline, and in fact, dealt one of the team's starters to a division rival. The results speak for themselves; Krall dropped the ball at the trade deadline once again.

The Reds front office bungled the MLB trade deadline once again

Unlike last season, the Reds were not in the NL Central driver's seat at the trade deadline. The Milwaukee Brewers have dominated the competition this season and are poised to take home the division crown once again. But the Reds were just five games of the final NL Wild Card spot at this year's trade deadline.

Instead of adding to the roster, Krall subtracted. The Reds shipped Lucas Sims to the Boston Red Sox for a teenage pitching prospect and dealt Frankie Montas to the Brewers for Joey Wiemer and Jakob Junis.

While Montas wasn't having a stellar season, the Reds Opening Day starter was always good for at least five innings each time he stepped onto the mound. And after watching the debacle over the past week, Cincinnati could sure use Montas in the rotation right now. The former Reds hurler just went seven innings and allowed only one hit for the Brewers in his last start.

The Reds have lost ace Hunter Greene to the injured list, and outside of a spot start by Julian Aguiar and a fine outing from reliever Nick Martinez, Cincinnati's starting staff has been shellacked. Carson Spiers gave up nine runs on Tuesday night to the Toronto Blue Jays, but Abbott and Nick Lodolo hve been just as bad.

Reds starters Andrew Abbott & Nick Lodolo have struggled this summer

Abbott's last start against the Kansas City Royals saw the southpaw give up four runs on six hits in just five innings of work. Abbott has just one quality start in his last five outings. Lodolo hasn't looked the same since he was placed on the IL with a blister. The left-hander is 1-2 with a 7.30 ERA since July 9th.

If you're looking to the minor leagues for a savior, don't. Yes, Rhett Lowder was just called up to Triple-A, but he's not going to make his major league debut this season. Connor Phillips rejoined the Louisville Bats after a horrendous stretch earlier this season saw him sent off to the team's training complex in Arizona. Lyon Richardson and Christian Roa are both on the IL, and Cincinnati's best option down on the farm might be longtime minor league pitcher Brandon Leibrandt.

The Reds now sit 6.5 games back in the wild-card race and the season seems all but lost. There was so much promise surrounding this year's ball club, but the Reds have grossly underperformed. While not all the Reds' troubles can be traced back to a lack of moves at the trade deadline, it's now been two years in a row that Cincinnati has failed to truly upgrade the roster in order to make a playoff push during the second half of the season.

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