Reds can't stop at Hunter Greene if trade deadline plans change

At first, it seemed as if the Cincinnati Reds' prime trade deadline objective was finding new homes for their extensive crop of free-agents-to-be. The plan seemed to be to rebalance the scales while keeping the core in place in an attempt to return to the realm of contention in 2027.

Fueling that line of thinking was Ken Rosenthal's report that the Reds were also looking to add controllable players. That would seem to solidify that key players with team control remaining, like Hunter Greene, were safe.

As far as Greene is concerned, the tables have turned. The 27-year-old ace is under contract through 2028, and Cincinnati holds a club option for 2029. He's now drawing significant interest on the trade market.

Things are heating up even more. Buster Olney reported that Greene being traded is a 50-50 proposition. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com echoed that report Saturday. We're arriving at a tipping point for the flamethrower, but also for the franchise as a whole.

If the Reds indeed decide to trade Greene, it is a game-changer. The conservative path of selling only expiring contracts and opportunistically looking to buy controllable assets goes out the window. Instead, what we could see is a (nearly) no-holds-barred sell-off.

If the Reds trade Hunter Greene it should open the floodgates

If the Reds can move Greene in a deal to a team like the highly interested Los Angeles Dodgers that includes top outfield prospects like Zyhir Hope, Josue De Paula, and/ or James Tibbs III, plus a controllable young starter like Justin Wrobleski or River Ryan, it wouldn't necessarily be waving the white flag on the current core, but rather reinventing it.

That should then have Cincinnati considering trading other veterans who aren't about to hit free agency. Two names to keep in mind would be JJ Bleday and Emilio Pagán.

Bleday could fetch a nice haul as teams clamor for bats in a market that is largely devoid of them. The 28-year-old is cheap, doesn't hit free agency until 2029, and hits for power from the left side. The Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Yankees are just a few of the clubs he could check the box for.

Pagán is another chip who could have more appeal than people think. The 35-year-old has a $10 million player option for next season, so he may or may not provide value beyond 2026. However, he's one of the few relievers who could be available who has actual closer experience apart from Mason Miller and Luke Weaver, both of whom might not actually move.

On top of that, while Pagan's numbers on the season don't look great, he's posted a 2.45 ERA in the 7⅓ innings he's thrown since coming off the IL.

Yet another option could be Nick Lodolo. The Reds are unlikely to retain him long=term, and he hits free agency in 2028. Starting pitching is always a valuable commodity, especially when it comes with team control. If his new breaking ball grip proves to be effective, a team might bite and give up some serious assets, gambling that his blister woes are behind him.

The only players who are off limits should be Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and Chase Burns. That trio is the foundation — though De La Cruz is further along in his big league journey, and by moving these valuable veterans — the Reds can find several extremely talented young players who better fit the timeline that these foundational pieces are on.

That doesn't mean throwing in the towel on 2027, but instead, it means proactively acknowledging the mistakes in building out this current core and reconfiguring the roster to come back stronger and for longer moving forward.

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