Reds release yet another Nick Krall acquisition from the 2022 trade deadline

Cincinnati Reds fans would prefer to forget the 2022 season, and the way this year's team has performed, the 2026 campaign will soon be memory-holed as well. But if there was one saving grace from the Reds' 100-loss season in 2022, it was the so-called 'prospect haul' Nick Krall was able to secure at the trade deadline.

Sadly, several of the prospects the Reds received at the 2022 trade deadline are no longer part of the organization, and earlier this week, that number got a little larger. On Tuesday, Cincinnati released minor-league shortstop Victor Acosta. He was the former San Diego Padres prospect the Reds received after shipping Brandon Drury to the Friars.

Acosta never really took off after joining the Reds organization. He had just debuted stateside for the Padres before the deadline, and played in only 10 games for the ACL Reds in 2022. But after more than 400 minor-league games and nearly 1,500 at-bats, the 22-year-old has failed to move past A-Ball. This season, he was hitting .248/.339/.428 before his release.

Nick Krall should be held accountable for Reds' failures at the 2022 trade deadline

Though Acosta may be the latest prospect acquired at the 2022 deadline to be shown the door, he's hardly the first. Andrew Moore and Levi Stoudt, both of whom were part of the return for Luis Castillo, have moved on. Moore was picked up by the Padres in 2025 and traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this season. Stoudt joined the Philadelphia Phillies, and hadn't allowed an earned run all season before landing on the 60-day IL.

The other two players Cincinnati secured as part of that trade — Edwin Arroyo and Noelvi Marte — have been underwhelming contributors for the Reds this season. Both are currently at Triple-A Louisville, and were among some of the worst hitters in the league earlier this year.

Steve Hajjar was one of the pieces Krall and Co. received from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Tyler Mahle. He was almost immediately flipped for Will Benson back in 2023. Benson was a fan-favorite in Cincinnati, but he failed to find his footing and was designated for assignment in July.

Spencer Steer was part of that trade with the Twins as well, and sticks out as the lone success from that year's laundry list of deadline acquisitions. Unfortunately, Steer's on the 60-day IL after suffering a wrist injury, and could be staring down a risky surgery this coming winter.

The final piece of that trade with Minnesota represents another Krall blunder. Christian Encarnacion-Strand was a big pickup at the time, but after suffering a wrist injury of his own in 2024, he was never the same. The Reds DFA'd Encarnacion-Strand earlier this season, and after latching on with the Baltimore Orioles, has become their starting third baseman while hitting .268/.320/.497 with 10 home runs and a 127 wRC+.

The jury is still out on Héctor Rodríguez and José Acuña, both of whom were acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Tyler Naquin. The Reds also offloaded Tommy Pham to the Boston Red Sox for former minor-league infielder Nick Northcutt, a player who was last seen in Indy Ball back in 2025.

In total, the Reds picked up 11 prospects in the summer of 2022 and only five remain part of the organization. The only one who's produced anything of value at the big-league level is Steer (.242/.325/.421 with a 105 wRC+). That so-called 'haul' is looking more and more like a dud with each passing day.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow