Reds' once celebrated trade deadline decision has blown up in Nick Krall's face

The Cincinnati Reds made two deals ahead of the July 30th trade deadline. The Reds shipped Lucas Sims to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for teenage pitcher Ovis Portes and also dealt Opening Day starter Frankie Montas to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Jakob Junis and Joey Wiemer.

Portes made his way into four games for the Daytona Tortugas this season. But the 19-year-old right-hander, who's currently on the injured list, has recorded more walks (10) than strikeouts (9) and has a horrific 14.40 ERA. Yikes!

But Portes is incredibly young and perhaps he'll eventually find success in the Reds' farm system. But trading Montas to a division rival may well prove to be a colossal mistake on the part of Nick Krall and the Reds front office.

Reds' once celebrated trade deadline decision has blown up in Nick Krall's face

Not only is Cincinnati in need of starting pitching depth at the moment, but Montas has been terrific for the Brew Crew since the trade. Furthermore, Junis and Wiemer have been very disappointing since joins the Reds' organization. Unless Wiemer becomes little more than a high-strikeout depth piece in the minor leagues, this trade may well be considered one of Nick Krall's worst.

To be fair, Montas was no better than a No. 4 or 5 starter during his time in Cincinnati. While Hunter Greene and others will heap praise on Montas for his intangibles, the right-hander was just 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 93.1 innings pitched for the Reds.

But since joining the NL Central-leading Brewers, Montas is 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA and 28 punch outs in 27 innings of work. Outside of his start at Truist Park against the Atlanta Braves earlier this month, Montas has gone at least five innings each time he's toed the rubber for Brewers manager Pat Murphy.

Reds trade acquisition Joey Wiemer has struggled and Jakob Junis is a free agent

As for the Reds' side of things, Junis struggled mightily during his first two outings, but has since turned a corner. Junis has allowed 17 hits in 16.1 innings, but his most recent appearance as an opener against the Oakland A's was quite impressive. But Junis is a free agent after the season, meaning the Reds will have to reach into their pocketbook in order to bring him back in 2025.

Wiemer drew a walk during his lone plate appearance for the Reds earlier this month, but has struggled mightily down at Triple-A Louisville. Wiemer is 7-for-52 and has 17 strikeouts. Wiemer has yet to produce an extra-base hit, and is hardly an upgrade over Will Benson.

Face it, Reds fans, this one might not have been as good as originally thought. Sure, the Reds got out from underneath Montas' salary, but if Wiemer fails to turn things around in the near future, this trade will be seen as much ado about nothing.

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