What might a Reds offseason trade for Royals pitcher Brady Singer look like?

Outside of adding left-handed reliever, Sam Moll, the Cincinnati Reds failed to make any additions to the roster before the August 1st trade deadline. Many fans were left wondering why Nick Krall and the front office failed to pull the trigger on a deal.

However, rumors broke late last week that the Reds had their eye on Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer at the MLB trade deadline. Unfortunately, the two sides were unable to come to agreement.

But this could easily be a potential trade that is revisited in the offseason. It would seem as though the Royals' window for contention won't be anytime soon. With Singer under team control through 2026, he would certainly fit well into the Reds timeline.

What might a Reds offseason trade for Royals pitcher Brady Singer look like?

Brady Singer is 8-9 with a 5.04 ERA this season. With a career-ERA of 4.30 and a career-WHIP of 1.364, Singer is far from an ace. But the former first-round pick is no slouch either and would fit nicely in the backend of the Cincinnati Reds rotation.

That said, with Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Brandon Williamson, Andrew Abbott, Ben Lively, Connor Phillips, Vladimir Gutierrez, Justin Dunn, Ben Lively, Graham Ashcraft, Lyon Richardson, Connor Overton, and Brett Kennedy, the Reds aren't exactly hurting for arms. But, as we all know, you can never have enough pitching.

So, with that in mind, what might it take in order to make the Royals feel comfortable parting with Singer. Keep in mind, the Royals really don't have a lot of incentive to trade him. He's under team control for three more seasons, and is just entering his arbitration window this winter.

Make no mistake, the Royals won't just be giving away talent because they're stuck in the AL Central basement. But KC won't be looking for terribly advanced prospects either. Remember the types of players the Reds were targeting in trades last year? That's the exact same idea the Royals will have.

The Cincinnati Reds have so many shortstops, but Leonardo Balcazar is probably a name not many Reds fans have heard of. The right-handed hitting infielder is just 19 years old and would be considered a hit-over-power prospect. Balcazar has posted an OPS near .900 while playing at Low-A Daytona this season.

Another piece of this potential deal could be minor league outfielder Michael Siani. A fouth-round draft pick of the Reds in 2018, Siani's speed and glove are elite, but the 23-year-old struggles to make contact.

Finally, it's going to take more than a teenage infield prospect and a defense-first outfielder to intice the Kansas City Royals to execute a trade. Enter Julian Aguiar. A lot of Reds fans are very high on the young right-hander. But if you want an established starter with multiple years of team control, you're going to have to pay a high price.

Aguiar has a sub-3.00 ERA while splitting time between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga and could be on track to make his major league debut sometime in 2024. But the Reds also have players like Carson Spiers, Christian Roa, Levi Stoudt, Chase Petty, and even Rhett Lowder in the farm system as well.

If the Cincinnati Reds intend to compete in 2024, they're going to need to look to acquire some more pieces during the offseason. A right-handed outfielder should be atop the list, but don't sleep on the idea of adding another starter. Brady Singer isn't a bad option, but the price tag will be rather high.