5 players the Cincinnati Reds gave up on way too soon

There a myriad of reasons that teams and players part ways. Trades, contract disputes, and legal troubles, are just a handful of things that can occur to cause a split between a player and an organization.

Sometimes, going their separate ways is beneficial for the organization. Cutting an underperforming star or dismissing a player for off-the-field concerns can clear the way for the next up-and-coming prospect.

Other times, however, things don't go according to plan and the player that you thought was a nuisance or a bust turns out to be spectacular with a change in scenery. Let's look back at five players the Cincinnati Reds gave up way too soon.

1. The Reds gave up on Aroldis Chapman way too soon.

Let's get this one out of the way first, shall we? Most Reds fans know why the team traded Aroldis Chapman. After domestic violence issues arose in December of 2015, the Cincinnati Reds intensified efforts to find a trade partner for Chapman.

The Reds settled on the New York Yankees offer of Caleb Cotham, Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo, and Tony Renda. None of those players did much of anything for the Reds while Chapman went on to post an ERA of 2.74 in his seven-plus seasons since leaving the Queen City.

Chapman went to three All-Star Games after leaving Cincinnati and was part of the Chicago Cubs World Championship team in 2016. While Chapman hasn't been the dominant closer that Reds fans remembered when he was tossing 100-plus mph, the left-hander has been quite effective.

Perhaps it's more the return that lacked any sort of productive major leaguer rather than the fact that Cincinnati moved on too quickly, but 270 saves post-trade is nothing to sneeze at. Seeing as how the Cincinnati Reds bullpen has been the Achilles heel for what feels like forever, it's safe to say the club moved on from Aroldis Chapman way too soon.