Reds' unfathomable Brady Singer trade deadline pivot may reveal more than intended

Brady Singer was traded to the Cincinnati Reds ahead of the 2025 season in exchange for Jonathan India. A little over a year-and-a-half later, and Singer was presumed to be on the move again. But recent reports from The Athletic suggest that the Reds may look to keep Singer in Cincinnati.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Reds are likely to hold onto Singer beyond the deadline and are kicking around the idea of extending him a qualifying offer during the offseason. The Reds did the same thing with Nick Martinez following the 2024 season, and it cost them over $21 million.

The Reds may look to keep Brady Singer past the trade deadline

This is a somewhat stunning development. The Reds were rumored to be shopping all their impending free agents, including Singer. But if the Reds actually extend a QO to the right-hander this coming winter — an offer that essentially equates to a one-year deal worth more than $22 million — he's unlikely to reject it.

Singer has been a stalwart competitor during his time with the Reds. Arguably one of the most durable pitchers in Major League Baseball, he has answered the bell every fifth day and since the start of the 2025 season, has a combined 53 starts, 4.15 ERA, and 254 punch outs over 277 innings pitched.

Rosenthal's reporting is bound to bring about a number of questions from the fanbase. Is this a sign that the Reds are actually shopping Hunter Greene at the trade deadline (or plan to do so during the offseason)? Or, is it merely an expensive insurance policy given Nick Lodolo's injury history? Frankly, it could be both, or something else entirely.

Starting pitching is exceedingly valuable, and the Reds have run out of arms early and often in 2026. But to make Singer, who's a solid back-of-the-rotation starter, the highest-paid player on next year's team by using a QO seems like an outlandish idea.

The trade market hasn't yielded much of a return for rental pitchers so far, and it's possible that Cincinnati didn't receive what they deemed to be a reasonable offer for Singer's services. The Reds also have to think about how to navigate the remainder of the 2026 season.

Chase Burns is quickly approaching an innings limit, and Rhett Lowder's pitch count over the final two months is unknown. The Reds are hoping to have Lodolo back in the rotation sometime in the next few weeks, but his health is always a concern.

Holding onto to Singer past the deadline seems like an odd approach for a team 5½ games back of the final Wild Card spot. But stranger things have happened during the dog days of summer, and the Reds may be trying to make a playoff push during the final two months of the season.

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