Reds were outclassed at the trade deadline by baseball's most dysfunctional franchises

The Cincinnati Reds trade deadline has been universally derided as a major disappointment. Former general manager Jim Bowden, in his column for The Athletic (subscription required), gave the Reds a D for their moves and suggested Nick Krall and the rest of the front office must've taken Ambien; implying Cincinnati's braintrust was asleep at the wheel.

The Reds effectively traded Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson for a 19-year-old pitching prospect and $250,000 in international bonus pool money. Cincinnati also worked out a minor trade just before the deadline passed to acquire Cleveland Guardians infield prospect Juan Brito.

This was a far cry from what most Reds fans, and those within the industry, expected. Heading into the deadline, Cincinnati had seven players on the active roster who will be free agents after the season.

With a losing record and less than 5% chance to make the playoffs, the overwhelming majority of fans and pundits assumed the Reds were going to offload most, if not all, of their expiring contracts. In the end, they moved just two players, one of whom (Lowe) was highly successful against right-handed pitching.

This is the type of strategy that most would expect to see from organizations like the Los Angeles Angels or the Colorado Rockies. But hysterically, both the Halos and the Rox — widely regarded as two of the worst-run franchises in Major League Baseball — found success at this year's trade deadline.

The Angels and Rockies outclassed the Reds at the trade deadline

The Angels recently hired former St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak as the team's interim general manager. The Halos underwent a fire sale at this year's deadline, offloading José Soriano, Jo Adell, Ryan Zeferjahn, Kirby Yates, and former Reds reliever Brent Suter.

Soriano, Adell, and Zaferjahn all had multiple years of team control remaining, while Yates and Suter are scheduled to be free agents after the season. In return, Mozeliak was able to wrangle a top-100 shortstop prospect away from the Toronto Blue Jays, and also added a number of talented young players to the organization's beleaguered farm system.

The Rockies, who are under new leadership as well, shipped Brenton Doyle to the Chicago White Sox for a pair of prospects, and also traded reliever Victor Vodnik to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Connor Norby and Aiden May. To top things off, Colorado was able to find a taker for Antonio Senzatela, sending him to the Milwaukee Brewers for two more prospects.

It's not often that an organization can say they were bested by the Angels or the Rockies, but that's exactly what happened to the Reds at this year's trade deadline. That's embarrassing. Both the Angels and Rockies are under new management, perhaps it's time for the Reds to follow suit.

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