Cincinnati Reds President and Management Confirm the Star Player. Cincinnati Reds Must Trade in 2024.
The Cincinnati Reds’ start to the 2024 Major League Baseball season has been a roller coaster ride, with many unexpected drops recently. After getting swept and failing to score a run against a starting pitcher over the weekend, the Reds are on a five-game losing skid, have dropped two games below.500, and have just an 18.8% chance of making the playoffs, according to Fangraphs.
The Reds, who came into the season with high hopes of having marketable, brilliant young stars, have found themselves in a difficult position. The injuries to Matt McLain and TJ Friedl, as well as Noelvi Marte’s suspension, have hampered Cincinnati’s depth, and the team is still battling to have a solid pitching staff in baseball’s worst pitcher’s park. Fortunately, it is still early enough in the season to make the required changes.
Being the Reds’ general manager should be a lot of fun. However, the more you learn about their roster predicament, the more puzzled you become about where the future is heading. With the following changes, the Reds may not only improve their club in the short term, but also lay the groundwork for what they want their roster to look like in the long run.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., a Marlins center fielder, was acquired.
With the stunning announcement that the Miami Marlins would trade Luis Arraez in the first week of May, the Fish sent a clear message to the rest of the league that they were available for business. Everyone immediately referred to one of the most wanted names on the squad, center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., as another potential trade option. And, although it may not appear so at first appearance, the Reds are an ideal destination.
First, let’s examine center field productivity. According to fWAR, the Marlins have the third-most valuable center fielders this season (mainly Chisholm), while the Reds are 27th at -0.3. Chisholm has acclimated admirably to his new role since arriving at the beginning of 2023, and he would be a significant defensive boost over anyone on the current squad. But you can practically hear supporters exclaiming, “Hey, TJ Friedl is almost back from injury!” Yes, but there’s another reason this makes sense.
Remember when Chisholm flashed the leather at second base instead of center field? He could still do both, especially in today’s day when position players switch positions at an alarming pace. There’s a good possibility McLain won’t play this season, and the Reds are even worse in fWAR at second base, ranking second in the league with -0.6. When McLain returns to health, Chisholm may play the majority of his games in center, and the Reds can move Friedl to a corner position. We have a strategy for the current second baseman as well.
Trade 2B. Jonathan India
Things aren’t going well in Cincinnati for the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year. In 251 games since his outstanding rookie season, Jonathan India has a.717 OPS and 95 OPS+. And although it is possible to be a valuable second baseman with a somewhat below-league average hitting, India is much more weak in his glove. He has -1.7 defensive WAR and -25 outs over average in his career, making him one of the worst defensive second basemen in the game.
In addition to dealing with injuries, India’s predicament with the Reds has simply been too difficult to manage. He’s been forced to take a backseat in the organization as the McLains and Elly De La Cruzes of the world rise through the minors, but he’s also been relied upon to provide senior leadership in the lack of any true seasoned veterans on the team. At this time, the hardships are both emotional and physical, and India really needs a change of scenery.
A franchise like the Kansas City Royals would be an excellent match for India. They’re receiving very little output from their second basemen, particularly offensively, and they’re a young squad with seasoned leadership already in place, with captain Salvador Perez anchoring the lineup. Furthermore, as a gap-to-gap hitter at his best, India may benefit from leaving the homer-friendly setting of Great American Ball Park and focusing on driving liners into Kauffman Stadium’s cavernous power alleys. Please make this happen, Midwest front offices.
Acquire Rockies SP Ryan Felter
The easiest approach to finding a solid starting pitching prospect for the Reds is to look for someone with a high ground ball rate, as giving up fly balls in the launch pad where the Reds play their home games is a horrible recipe. Ironically, the findings revealed Ryan Feltner, a starting pitcher for another team with a horrible pitching home ballpark: the Colorado Rockies.
Feltner would be an excellent buy-low candidate because, while he still has four years of club control after 2024, he has an ERA above five, so the Rockies will not cling to him if they receive a good offer. And it’s evident that Feltner has potential; all he needs is the correct pitching development plan to capitalize on it.
Here’s an excellent example: Feltner’s sinker has a.143 opponent batting average and a -16 degree average launch angle (a.k.a. straight into the ground), but the geniuses in the Coors Field offices haven’t thought to utilize it more than 9.2% of the time this season. His four-seamer, slider, and changeup are all being hit substantially harder, with some awful batted ball luck thrown in. Bring him to Cincinnati, address the badly balanced pitch mix, and you’ll have a very respectable fourth or fifth starting for less than $1 million in payroll.
ClutchPoints sports reporter Jackson Roberts covers the MLB, NFL, and golf. He earned a Master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse. Jackson also works for the MLB Network and has written for Underdog Fantasy and Football Outsiders.
