Reds trade proposal from former GM instantly reminds fans why he was fired

Former GM Jim Bowden may have finally lost his marbles, Reds fans. Now a contributor for The Athletic, Bowden just suggested an MLB trade deadline proposal that may be worse than any move he ever made while running the Cincinnati Reds front office — and that's saying a lot.

Bowden's recent trade proposal (subscription required) revealed exactly why no team would ever hire him to be their general manager ever again. Bowden believes the Reds should trade for Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn. Fair enough. Though O'Hearn is defensively limited, he possesses the type of thump in the middle of the batting order that could help propel Cincinnati into the postseason.

But the other side of the deal is where it becomes clear that the former Reds GM may need to have his head examined. In order for Cincinnati to pull off this trade, Bowden believes the Reds would need to send Chase Petty, Adam Serwinowski, and Sammy Stafura to the Orioles. That would essentially be three of the Reds' top-12 prospects heading to Baltimore in exchange for two months of O'Hearn.

Reds-Orioles trade proposal for Ryan O'Hearn reveals why former GM Jim Bowden was fired

Had Bowden included one of Petty, Serwinowski, or Stafura for O'Hearn, the trade proposal would've at least been plausible. Some Reds fans love Petty — maybe not as much as they did before his MLB debut — and Stafura has a number of fans who are excited to see his development as well. Serwinowski is name not too many Reds fans have heard of, but the lefty has a ton of upside and is currently at High-A Dayton.

For Bowden to include all three prospects for a rental bat is absolute madness. In order for the Reds to give up a trade package anywhere close to that one he proposed, they'd have to receive an everyday position player — preferably an outfielder — with multiple years of team control remaining.

Bowden's time in Cincinnati was marked by a handful of poor trades, including Paul Konerko to the Chicago White Sox and Ryan Church to the New York Mets. Bowden's buffoonery was on full-display once again with this latest harebrained drivel and proved why Carl Linder was right to fire him in 2003.

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