Reds may have to trade for third base help to avoid another costly mistake

Water is wet, the sky is blue, and the Cincinnati Reds must upgrade from Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base. There are very few universal truths in life, but these are three that we all can agree on.

Hayes might be a top-five defender, regardless of position, in the entire league, but when he puts up a bottom-three offensive season over the last 85 years, all the defensive excellence in the world is meaningless.

The flare-up between president of baseball operations Nick Krall and the Castellini family seems to be over, and the two sides are making nice. But can we really trust Krall to make smart free-agent moves? It's tough to tell who is really at fault for Cincinnati's recent failures, but until proven otherwise, Krall has to be treated as responsible.

Either way, the free-agent class at the hot corner is underwhelming, to say the least. Some top options would be Alec Bohm, an abysmal defender and average-at-best bat; Edmundo Sosa, more of a utility man than anything; and...Jeimer Candelario.

Depending on options, Eugenio Suárez will hit the market, and bringing him back at a cheaper rate makes some sense, but he's more of a DH at this point than an everyday third baseman. Bo Bichette could hit the market if he opts out, but he's coming off an uneven year and won't fit into the Reds' budget anyway.

The trade market will be the Reds' best path to upgrade over Ke'Bryan Hayes

It's hard to predict exactly who will be put on the trade block, but the way certain circumstances are for one team or another, we can make some educated guesses.

Last offseason, Houston Astros' third baseman Isaac Paredes was engulfed in trade rumors. Ultimately, that didn't come to fruition, but the conditions that led to those rumors are going to be present again this winter. The Astros have an infield logjam, and Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and Christian Walker all have bloated salaries that are virtually unmovable. They also have a lot of other needs that need to be solved, and not a lot of money in their budget.

Houston was just eliminated from the postseason by the Chicago White Sox, and after firing Dana Brown, they'll have a new general manager soon. That all puts things in flux, but it's obvious that trading Paredes is the best way for them to rebalance their roster.

Then there's Brett Baty with the New York Mets. The Mets are going through a transition of sorts after an extremely disappointing 2026, and like Paredes, Baty has been a rumored trade piece for a long time. A slow start impacted his overall numbers, but the former top prospect got hot from June 30 onward, reigniting his promise.

The bottom line is that if the Reds do what needs to be done and move on from Hayes, Krall has a much greater chance of making a successful acquisition by navigating the trade market rather than sifting through free-agent third-base options. Given Krall's history, this is a move that he can't afford to miss.

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