John Fay at the Cincinnati Enquirer got a hold of Reds president Bob Castellini and wondered if the Reds would add any payroll through a trade. Castellini's response:
"We've got some flexibility. We're not looking. We've got some key guys in sick bay right now."
The "key guys" he's referring to are Joey Votto, who's supposedly on track for a rehab assignment, Edwin Encarnacion, and Edinson Volquez. All are due back before the All-Star break.
After a win tonight, the Reds stand two games above .500 at 33-31, but they're still in good enough shape for the NL Central, where they're only three games behind the first-place Brewers and two games behind the Wild Card-leading Cardinals (pending tonight's results). While their team ERA sits at a stellar 3.86, good for fifth in the league, their team OPS sits at fifth-to-last in the majors at .710.
If you're the Reds GM, are Votto and Encarnacion the answers to your offensive woes? Or should they pursue a bat such as, say, Aubrey Huff or Luke Scott, as suggested by Jon Paul Morosi, or Mark DeRosa, as put forth by SI's Tom Verducci? Or something completely different altogether? Discuss your take.
