Despite Justin Dunn's injury-riddled tenure, the Reds still won the trade with the Mariners

At this point, you kind of feel sorry Justin Dunn, right? The Cincinnati Reds right-hander hasn't been on a major league mound since August of 2022, and he'll now miss all of the 2023 season as well.

Dunn was part of the trade last spring that Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners. In exchange, Cincinnati received Dunn, outfielder Jake Fraley, left-hander Brandon Williamson, and today's starter Connor Phillips.

Despite the fact that the Reds acquired Dunn knowing full-well that he had a bum shoulder and would be out at least half of last season, Nick Krall and the Cincinnati front office are still clear winners when it comes to last year's trade.

Despite Justin Dunn's injury-riddled stay, Reds still won the trade with the Mariners.

Justin Dunn was shut down midway through the 2021 season after suffering a shoulder injury. That injury was still bothering the former first-round pick last spring and saw Dunn placed on the 60-IL before the 2022 season began.

Dunn finally made his Cincinnati Reds debut last summer. The former New York Mets farmhand made just seven starts before being shut down once again. Dunn owned a 6.10 ERA through 31 innings of work.

Dunn spent the first-half of the 2023 season rehabbing his shoulder once again and was placed on the 60-day IL to begin this season. Dunn made one rehab appearances for Triple-A Louisville and was pulled after just one inning.

Dunn experienced a setback and learned that he'd need surgery on his anterior capsule. He will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and is clearly a candidate to be non-tendered later this year.

At the time of last year's trade, the biggest asset the Cincinnati Reds received in return was Brandon Williamson. It may very well be that Connor Phillips becomes the biggest acquisition, and Jake Fraley's impact can't be overstated either.

Despite Justin Dunn offering little to nothing since coming to Cincinnati, the Reds are still clearly the winners of last spring's trade with the Mariners. Williamson and Phillips could be fixtures in the Reds rotation for years to come and Fraley is terrific platoon outfielder with power.

On the flipside, the Seattle Mariners parted company with Jesse Winker during the offseason and the former All-Star has barely played 60 games in 2023. Eugenio Suarez still has plenty of power in his bat, but the third baseman also leads the majors in strikeouts this season.