Reds ill-advised offseason trade with Pirates haunting them more and more by the day

The Cincinnati Reds pressing the wrong buttons when they are close to being contenders is not a new phenomenon. The Reds had one of the best pure hitters of the last 20 years (at least) in the pride of Canada, Joey Votto, in uniform for the better part of 17 seasons, but they never could take that next step to capitalize on it, and Votto only ended up playing in 11 playoff games total. Unfortunately, it was a move that the Reds DID make that is looking like a classic "a penny wise and a pound foolish" sort of situation.

At the time, the Reds trading Tyler Callihan made sense on paper. The odds were not good that Callihan would make the team out of camp, and they needed relief help. Reasonable people can be at loggerheads as to whether or not Kyle Nicolas was the right guy to target, but the logic was sound, especially if the Reds were right that Callihan couldn't help them in 2026 and beyond.

Unfortunately, giving up on Callihan when they did is not aging well, and the trade is looking like a mistake on par with betting one's life savings on an MVP season coming from Spencer Steer.

Tyler Callihan is settling in nicely with the Pirates, while the Reds got coal in their stocking with Kyle Nicolas

Now, it isn't like Callihan has suddenly blossomed into being a star in Pittsburgh. Cincinnati had real reasons to be skeptical that he would turn things around, especially in the wake of his arm injury back in 2025.

However, it does seem like Callihan is helping the division-rival Pirates win baseball games. Just this past weekend, Callihan crushed a three-run homer to help Pittsburgh take down the Reds, although he was just one of many reasons why Cincinnati lost that game (with the ghost of Brady Singer being a big contributor). Overall, Callihan has put together a very reasonable .896 OPS while getting increased playing time with Oneil Cruz out.

As for the Reds' end of the deal, it did not go well. Nicolas made seven appearances in the big leagues for Cincinnati and gave them an 8.59 ERA and 8.28 FIP for their troubles. Ultimately, the Reds decided to cut their losses and traded him to the Orioles after designating him for assignment. Nicolas has since been DFA'd by Baltimore as well to add more insult to injury.

These are the types of moves that the Reds have to get right if they are going to compete. They are never going to go out and trade for a Pete Crow-Armstrong-level talent, nor are they going to make a splashy free agent signing. They have to build from within and make prudent decisions. While they have some talented pieces like staff ace Hunter Greene as well as Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, it feels like they once again got the fringes of their roster wrong with Callihan.

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