5 players the Cincinnati Reds gave up on way too soon

5. The Reds gave up on Didi Gregorious way too soon.

Most Reds fans know why the Cincinnati Reds traded Didi Gregorius when they did. Much was the case with players like Yasmani Grandal and Yonder Alonso, the team saw greater potential with another player within the organization who played the same position.

For Grandal, it was Devin Mesoraco. For Alonso, it was Joey Votto. And for Gregorius, it was shortstop Zack Cozart. Gregorius received a September call-up in 2012, but that was the extent of playing time the infielder received with the Redlegs.

Gregorius was traded the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade that saw the Cincinnati Reds land outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. After leaving the Reds, Gregorius suffered through some injury-plagued seasons with the D-backs before landing in the Bronx.

During his five-year run with the New York Yankees, Didi Gregorius would draw posted a slash line of .269/.313/.446 with 97 home runs and 360 RBIs. For a two-year stretch (2017-2018), Gregoriuos was one of the most underrated players in the American League. Gregorius hit 52 bombs during that stretch and posted an OPS of .812.

Zack Cozart was a fine defender during his time in Cincinnati, injuries plagued him as well. While it might be a stretch to say the Reds made the wrong call choosing Cozart over Gregorius, we can all agree that Cincinnati moved on from Sir Didi too soon.