Reds rumors begin to swirl around Brady Singer but one major obstacle lingers

It's been a little while since the Cincinnati Reds were involved in some juicy offseason rumors, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) just revealed that Brady Singer could be on the move. According to Rosenthal, rival executives say the Reds are open to moving some of their mid-tier starters, but a major obstacle could prevent the trade talks from getting off the ground.

The Reds are reportedly steering clear of trading the trio of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott. That's good news. It seems, however, that while Cincinnati is willing to move any starter below those three on the depth chart, in order to do so, they would need to backfill the rotation. That's where the problem comes in.

The Reds and Singer will soon discover how much the starter is owed in 2026. The deadline for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures is this Thursday, and Singer is expected to earn close to $12 million. If the two sides don't come to an agreement this week, an arbitration hearing will be held later this month or in early February.

Reds Rumors: Cincinnati could trade Brady Singer, but there's a catch

Paying $12 million for a back-of-the-rotation starter like Singer is a luxury for the Reds — one that could keep them from landing the big-bat that they desperately need. Cincinnati could attempt to swap Singer for such a player, or add prospects in a trade and free up the $12 million in payroll to spend in free agency.

But, as these latest Reds rumors reveal, Cincinnati would then have a gaping hole in the middle of their rotation. While the Reds have a plethora of arms waiting in the wings — Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson, Chase Petty, Julian Aguiar, and Jose Franco — none of them have the type of track record that Singer does.

The Reds should be shopping Singer, but only if it brings back the type of bat they've been searching for all offseason. There's obvious risk in letting go of such a dependable starter, but Cincinnati must find a way to upgrade their lineup, and trading Singer is the most logical (and cost-effective) way to do that.