Trade Links

By Ryan Bramwell

The Reds are being linked to several players as we near the trade deadline. 

Cole Hamels - Left handed starting pitcher for the Phillies.  Most-likely a rental for the remainder of the season, but says he'd be willing to sign a long term deal.  Hamels would be a welcome addition because we know how good he is and because he would be the only left-hander in our rotation.  My opinion, however, is to steer clear of Hamels because I don't know how much money we've got available to spend, and our starting pitching is better than you all think it is.  How good?  We have a 3.39 team ERA.  4th best in the Majors, not just the NL.  The Nationals lead all of baseball at 3.20.  The Reds are at 3.39.  Think about that for a second and tell me that getting a cheaper offensive player for a longer duration isn't a better solution.

Carlos Quentin - Quentin's numbers have dropped a bit since his red-hot start after coming off the DL.  Part of that may be due to having no help around him in the lineup, and another part may be that he is playing most his games at pitcher-friendly PETCO Park.  It still remains a good question whether or not Quentin would be a rental or a player who sticks with the club for more than a partial season.  This is where Jocketty and company need to be careful in their decision making.  Yes, it would be tremendous to have power-hitting Carlos Quentin batting behind the best player in baseball, Joey Votto.  It would automatically make our lineup more substantial all the way through.  Cozart/Phillips at one and two in some order, then Vottomatic, Quentin, Bruce, Frazier, Hanigan, Stubbs, Pitcher.  I'm sure Dusty would make his own lineup card that would drive me insane, but this is how I would imagine it based on the play of our guys so far.  The biggest concern of course is how much do we have to give up for Carlos Quentin and how long would we have him before he is a free agent?

Shane Victorino - This might be the best option for the Reds.  It would give us a much more dependable bat in center field.  His speed isn't quite what Stubbs' is, but his OBP is what really counts here.  Let us compare:  Stubbs - .215/.286/.653 slash line (thats AVG/OBP/OPS), 9 HR, 21 RBI, 17 SB (4 CS) 77 Ks/24 BBs.  Now, Victorino - .245/.311/.680 slash line, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 19 SB (2 CS), 42 Ks/31 BBs.  Now let's really think about this for a minute.  We all have a desire to see Drew Stubbs succeed.  We like him.  A lot.  And we know he has so much upside with all his speed and power.  But let's face the music we don't exactly want to hear.  Victorino is having his worst season in the league so far and it is still far more productive than Stubbs'.  He has more steals and isn't quite as fast as Drew.  What does that tell you?  He gets on base more.  He strikes out less and takes more walks.  He's a true top-of-the-order guy.  This doesn't mean that we need to part way with Drew Stubbs or anything like that, but it does mean we have a better option if the price is right.  And it's offense, not defense or pitching that is holding this club back from its full potential.  Also, take note that The Flyin' Hawaiin is also a switch hitter.

I listed other trade possibilities a couple days ago, but I wanted to get more in depth with the aforementioned guys.  Guys like Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Juan Pierre, and others are still on the Reds radar.  Here are some links to back that up:

-Bleacher Report - Reds Rumors
-MLB Trade Rumors - Reds Rumors
-NBC Sports Hardball Talk - Quentin
-NBC Sports Hardball Talk - Pierre
-Bleacher Report - Lineup Changes