Reds' offseason trades signal obvious shift in Cincy's philosophy

The Cincinnati Reds have now made two trades this offseason. Shortly after the GM Meetings in November, the Reds shipped Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for starting pitcher Brady Singer. On Friday, Cincinnati landed catcher Luis Trevino after dealing Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson to the New York Yankees.

Singer brings a middle-of-the-rotation arm to the Reds pitching staff and the addition of Trevino gives Cincinnati a quality backup behind the dish. But more than that, these trades illustrate that Cincinnati is finally putting an emphasis on defense.

Reds' offseason trades signal that defense will be paramount in 2025

India's defensive efforts were better in 2024, but overall, the former first-round pick was a below-average defender. For his career, India has been worth -31 defensive runs saved (DRS) and -23 outs above average (OAA). The Reds plan to have a now-healthy Matt McLain take over at second base in 2025. During his rookie season in 2023, McLain was worth 4 DRS and 2 OAA as an infielder.

Luke Maile was Cincinnati's backup catcher in 2024. Though a terrific leader on and off the field, Maile's defense was subpar. The northern Kentucky native was worth -5 DRS last season, and was below-average in framing and throwing out runners. Trevino struggles to control the run game as well, but the 32-year-old backstop is an elite pitch-framer and has both a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove on his trophy shelf.

The Reds have long been one of the worst defensive teams in Major League Baseball. Last season, the Reds ranked 24th in OAA and 28th in DRS according to FanGraphs. Things were no better in 2023 when Cincinnati was 29th in OAA and 28th in DRS. In theory, McLain taking over at the keystone and adding Trevino behind the dish should help to improve those numbers.

The Reds have needed to upgrade the overall team defense for some time now, and Cincinnati may not be done. The Reds' outfield defense was quite poor in 2024 and Noelvi Marte's -8 DRS was third-worst among all third basemen. Jeimer Candelario (-6 DRS) wasn't much better.

Nick Krall and the Reds may have more moves on the horizon, and if the first two trades this offseason are any indication, there will be (and should be) an emphasis on defense.

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