Okay, so the Reds made a trade. Actually, they made three (but one doesn’t count). In less than twenty-four hours, the Reds offloaded starting pitcher Frankie Montas to the Milwaukee Brewers and relief pitcher Lucas Sims to the Boston Red Sox (and they also acquired first baseman Ty France from the Seattle Mariners for a bag of Cracker Jacks). If you wanted the Reds to sell off their assets like it was Black Tuesday in 1929, you're probably a little disappointed. If you wanted the Reds to throw caution to the wind and buy like it’s any time before Black Tuesday, you’re probably a little miffed too.
Without context, it’s hard to complain about the moves the Reds made. Montas began the season like an All-Star, cruising to a 2 - 1 record with a 2.16 ERA through his first three starts before being hit by a comebacker. From there, it hasn’t been great (2 - 7 since April 15 with a 5.63 ERA). The fact that they got a former top 100 prospect in minor league center fielder Joey Wiemer– from a Division rival no less – is a win all its own. Throw in an effective long-reliever like Jakob Junis (2.42 ERA in 26.0 IP this season), and it quickly becomes apparent why pundits around the MLB are praising this deal for the Reds.
Sending Sims to the BoSox is more than defensible as well. Sims is having a decent season (3.57 ERA in 35.1 IP), but with the 30-year-old reliever demonstrating serious control issues (notably walking the go-head run a tie-ballgame on Sunday versus the Tampa Bay Rays), and his contract expiring at the end of the year, that the Reds were able to secure a promising 19-year-old pitcher in the trade is shrewd dealmaking by the Reds front office. Why, though, am I still left wanting more?
If you couldn’t already tell from my column a week ago, I’m firmly in the “sell off anything that isn’t tied down” camp. I don’t believe this Reds team can make the playoffs. Moving Montas and Sims – two players who would probably be playing elsewhere in 2025 anyway – for controllable assets is smart, but it’s also far from enough. Why is Buck Farmer still here? And Nick Martinez? If you gave me the reins, I’d be trying to move Jeimer Candelario and Jonathan India too.
It’s the final name that’s most frustrating. India is having his best season since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021, but with his contract expiring in a year and a half, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a calculated, aggressive move. India is worth more now than he will be this time next year, precisely because his contract will be expiring. As if this move wasn’t obvious enough, the Reds have Matt McLain, a player with a skill set tailor-made to be a perennial All-Star second baseman. McLain is the future; India is the present. If the Reds are prioritizing the former, why isn’t the latter in a different uniform today?
It’s not like there weren’t any takers either. It was widely reported that the New York Yankees were interested in acquiring India’s services. Instead, the Reds dragged their feet and allowed the Miami Marlins to offer Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx Bombers instead. The Yankees have three outfielders in the minors that could all be useful additions to the Reds farm system – and with Aaron Jude and Juan Soto making up two-thirds of their big-league outfield, it’s not like the Yankees are hurting for reinforcements. The Reds, apparently, didn’t find that enticing enough.
Okay, okay – the Reds did add some outfield help in the form of Wiemer, but forgive me if I’m not jumping for joy that the Reds added another outfielder who isn’t hitting his weight at the MLB level (hello Will Benson and Austin Slater). Wiemer might have been a top-100 prospect back in ‘23, but as of ‘24, he has a career .201 batting average and a career .339 OPS. He’s typical of Reds’ projects these days: athletically gifted, projectable skills, prodigious power…but zilch in terms of actual results.
The Reds are littered with these kinds of players. Benson is obvious. Stuart Fairchild has five-tool traits and zero-tool consistency. Guys like Jake Fraley and Rece Hinds too – all more than capable of putting twenty balls into the seats and swiping a dozen or more bags. Sadly, there’s no proof of concept whatsoever.
It’s even more frustrating watching the team the Reds just played, the Rays, give the Reds a lesson on the field and in dealmaking. During their three-game series with the Reds, the Rays shipped out Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes and Jason Adam. All were regulars – and this came with the Rays entering the series a game over .500 and finishing with the Rays taking two of three. And this doesn’t even take into account the Rays trading Aaron Civale back in early July! In terms of front office competence, the Reds are minor league compared to the Rays.
So now, the Reds will play out the string. By keeping most of their best players and shipping off only the most expendable, the Reds front office thinks it can have its cake and eat it too. Montas and Sims weren’t going to be the difference between making and missing the playoffs – but then again, neither is Wiemer. There’s a non-zero chance that Wiemer just can’t hack it in The Show. It’s a classic Reds move: selling the future and the present without really investing in either. Oh well, guess we’ll just watch the Reds finish around .500 again…
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