6:48pm: The three-team deal would see Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Donald going to the Reds, Didi Gregorius to the Diamondbacks, and Drew Stubbs plus an Arizona pitcher going to the Indians, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Patrick Corbin or Trevor Bauer will likely be the Arizona pitcher going to Cleveland, Rosenthal tweets.
4:52pm: The Diamondbacks would much prefer getting Gregorius back from the Indians instead of Cabrera in exchange for young pitching, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
4:20pm: There is now a three-team deal in the works between the Reds, Indians, and Diamondbacks, according to Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. Asdrubal Cabrera is not involved in the discussions at this stage.
The Indians discussed a deal for Cabrera with the Diamondbacks that would have netted them right-hander Trevor Bauer and left-hander Tyler Skaggs at the winter meetings.
3:01pm: The Reds and Indians are deep in talks that would send Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The Indians would receive center fielder Drew Stubbs and shortstop Didi Gregorius in return while the Reds are expected to receive another player in the deal.
The Reds would use Choo in center field even though he hasn't played there for the Indians since 2009 and has played just ten MLB games at the position in total. The Reds are banking on the 30-year-old's offensive production being able to make up for whatever they might lose defensively. The veteran owns a .289/.381/.465 slash line across eight major league seasons.
The acquisition of Gregorius could allow the Indians to deal fellow shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera, 27, is set to earn $6.5MM in 2013 and $10MM in 2014 before hitting free agency. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Gregorius won't be arbitration eligible until 2016 and won't see the open market until 2019. The Netherlands native split time between Double-A and Triple-A last season, hitting .265/.324/.393 with seven homers in 561 plate appearances.
Stubbs, 28, struggled at the plate in 2012 as he posted a .213/.277/.333 batting line with 14 home runs in 544 plate appearances. The former eighth-overall pick in the 2006 draft has a .241/.312/.386 across four big league seasons with the Reds.
Choo, a Scott Boras client, is set to hit the open market after the 2013 season. The Indians were said to have him available via trade, albeit with a high price tag. The Reds would plug Choo in as the leadoff hitter, a role they have been working hard to fill. The club spoke with the Twins about Ben Revere before he was traded to the Phillies and also had conversations with the Rockies about Dexter Fowler.
