The Reds have acquired utility player Miguel Andujar from the Athletics in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Kenya Huggins, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC2. Andujar is a free agent after the season, and was seen as a very likely candidate to be moved by the rebuilding A’s.
After a runner-up finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 and then a few uninspiring years with the Yankees, Andujar has rebuilt his value as a regular contributor since leaving New York. He has hit .285/.320/.412 over 640 plate appearances with the Pirates and Athletics since Opening Day 2023, good for a 105 wRC+.
As per the norm for a right-handed batter, Andujar has performed far better against left-handed pitching than he has against righties. Cincinnati will probably deploy Andujar as a platoon bat with lefty-swingers Gavin Lux or Jake Fraley in the corner outfield slots, and Andujar will likely get some time at third base as a better-hitting alternative to Ke’Bryan Hayes. Another of the Reds’ deadline pickups, Hayes is an elite defender who struggles mightily at the plate, so Andujar figures to get some late-game pinch-hitting opportunities as well.
Andujar is earning $3MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, so the Reds will only owe him a little under $1MM for the remainder of the 2025 campaign. That’s a bargain price for an above-average bat who has upside as a lefty-masher, and it’s a particularly smooth fit since the Reds are working within a limited budget.
Cincinnati emerges from deadline day with an estimated payroll of just under $119.9MM (hat tip to RosterResource). This stands as the Reds’ highest payroll since the 2021 season, and the acquisitions of Hayes, Andujar, and Zack Littell indicate that the team is making a strong push towards its first postseason appearance since 2020. The Reds are 57-52 entering tonight’s action, and sit three games behind the Padres for the final NL wild card spot.
Huggins was a fourth-round pick for Cincinnati in the 2022 draft, and a Tommy John surgery shelved him for big chunks of the 2023-24 seasons. As a result, Huggins has only 107 pro innings to his name, with 63 1/3 of those frames coming this year with A-level Daytona. Huggins has a 3.69 ERA in his return to action this year, looking pretty sharp even with a diminished strikeout rate that could be a by-product of his long layoff. MLB Pipeline slots Huggins in as the 27th-best prospect in the Athletics’ farm system, noting that he has exhibited better command post-surgery.
Bam!!!
I didn’t know Andujar was still playing baseball.
Miguel yes, Juaquin no.
He can’t believe it either! Ahahahahahaha!
Booyah the right handed power bat the Reds offense needs to put them over the Padres.
hes hit 6 homeruns this yr so much power
Warning track power in Sac = Legitimate power in Cin.
Sactown is a hitters park too
Not many at bats
Where’d Stevie Steve go, I love listing to nut jobs like that, at least until I banish them to the Enchanted Kingdom. Ahahahahahahaha!
Are you suggesting my clearly sarcastic comment isn’t accurate?
A trade involving Bob Castellini/Nick Krall and John Fisher/David Forst is what we really needed today actually.
Castellini could sell the team and the new owner takes them to Portland or Nashville. Or, the fair weather fans could stay quiet and let Francona work his magic on the team. And before you puff out your chest and yell how great a fan you are and blah, blah, blah. How many games did you see at Crosley Field?
Loser comment. Haven’t been to Crosley but I wasn’t alive. Hope that is a good enough excuse for you. Not sure how good your countin skills are but these fair weather fans haven’t seen Reds beat a team in playoffs since 1995. That’s the longest drought in SPORTS. Its been time this organization figures out how to run an organization. They are lucky to have ANY fans at all.
Really, that’s all you have? Duh, that’s a loser comment. Who are you Beavis or But*head,? Castellini is trying to run the team on a budget and put a decent team on the field. Otherwise some guy with big dollars comes along, buys the team and moves it somewhere where the revenue might be better. Appreciate what he’s trying to do. Otherwise it might be like the situation where the Cincinnati Royals left town never to return.
I wasn’t alive, so I assume that makes you a better fan. All I know is the Reds haven’t done anything in 30 years. I did get to see the Beach Boys (twice) after Reds games at Riverfront – that trumps you and your boomer memories.
Again, with the juvenile comments. Beavis or is it But*head,” that trumps you and your boomer memories”. Wah,wah, Castellini won’t get Soto, Judge and Ohtani. Grow up. Reds have had ups and downs over the past 60+ years, but I sure am glad they’re still here.
Oh and I forgot. It was great to watch the Big Red Machine in person.
Is this you Phil?
No bro, it’s a REAL Reds fan who remembers Tommy Helms, Frank Robinson, Lee May, Bobby Tolan, Darrell Chaney, the Big Red Machine, Bo Diaz, Todd Benzinger, Dan Driessen, Kal Daniels, Barry Larkin etc etc all the way up to this year. I love every minute of the baseball season, and every time we said at the end of the season,”We’ll get’em next year.” Make fun all you want, but I’m glad they are still here because there were times when we weren’t sure if they were gonna be. Listening or watching games with my dad or my grandma were some of my best memories. So you laugh if you must, call me a boomer if it makes you happy, I’m disabled too, so there’s something else you can use for jokes. But the fact that Marge Scott and Dan Castellini kept the Reds from moving on should be applauded because they were almost out the door and on to greener pastures. You have a great day and an even better weekend.
George and Harry Wright, Asa Brainard, Marty Gould…(I’m REALLY quite old)…
Aren’t the Yankees still trying to trade him?
He’s having a better year than Connor Joe, but will he sustain it?
Still not a big bat.
I like Miguel but he was not a long term solution for the young A’s having a surplus of talent waiting on the wings….
Ok
Pirates let Andujar walk years ago and he’s probably be top 3 in offensive production
Big things poppin’!
Better than Connor Joe at least..
Are the Reds making odd moves..?
Just sitting around letting the phone ring, then agreeing to whatever call they randomly answer
When *aren’t* they?
A bargain! This guy can still hit.
Solid get for the Reds knowing he’s never gonna play 3B on that team. He’s a decent DH.
How about left field?
I mean it’s not ideal but he’s fine in LF a couple games a week.
Solid? He has zero power for a DH.
We can hear the presser now. They could just play the past two years over again to save time.
We tried.
They asked too much.
We didn’t want to give up our prospects, even one of our 18 shortstops.
etc.
They made 3 solid trades man.
Define “Solid”? Ahahahahahahahaha!
Really good contact hitter. I’m forever rooting for Andujar
Why? He’s just not that good.
He’s a good hitter. Whenever he’s consistently in the lineup he hits for right around .300. His power is gone after the shoulder injury. Thought he caught a bad break with the Yankees when urshella showed up. Always liked him. Good hitter.
Thank you. As a suffering Reds’ fan, just the fact he is not Connor Joe is a massive upgrade. We will take what we can get,
When Friedl returns from paternity leave I imagine Conner Joe comes off. Does Andujar replace Espinal?
Espinal isn’t going anywhere, he plays everywhere and has good at bats
Actually yeah I’m not sure, maybe benson
Option Benson to AAA.
Connor Joe will be the odd man out, IMO
I think he will be anyways when friedl comes back, then someone has to move for Andujar
The Reds were going to get a power bat and they ended up getting two guys with 8 HRs combined. lol. What a joke of an organization.
That’s my squad! Another floundered deadline. Smh
Looking forward to it.
They needed a backup Third Baseman for the Third Baseman they just acquired
They need a starting 3b and make Haynes platoon
Very underwhelming return. Miguel is hitting almost .300
Andujar is a 30 year old utility player who can hit but is not a good defensive player and is a free agent after this season. To get a decent pitching prospect like Huggins for him is as good as you could expect.
3 years at A is concerning
Huggins had TJ surgery in mid 2023 and missed almost all of 2024. So it is not surprising he is still in A ball. Still he is only 22 and is rated one of the Reds top 30 prospects. That is a decent return for a guy like Andujar.
We now have an idea of how our lineup will look the last 2 months of the season with platoons in right field & DH. Below is batting order, position and current year ops + in parentheses:
1. Friedl (110) CF
2. McLain (87) 2V
3. EDLC (128) SS
4. Hays (122) LF
5. Fraley (110)/Marte (120) RF
6. Steer (87) 1B
7. Stevenson (94) primary catcher
8. Lux (99)/andujar (110) DH
9. Hayes (59) 3B
Trevino secondary catcher
Santiago utility
Benson optioned to Louisville
Joe optioned to Louisville
Good chance you see Andujar start against lefties at 1B, Steer shouldn’t be there.
He has 5 games in his MLB career at 1B
Yep, that’s plenty.
Another dud window is Castellini ran out of pennies in the couch.
We’ll Reds made no slash, hardly a drip for a team with playoff hopes, I guess it’s all in for 2026, this team has a window of opportunity and it’s fading away
Our rotation is in place for next year and at least 7 deep. The issue is going to be offense. Even if McLain returns to his 2023 form and Austin Hays agrees to his mutual option we are sub par offensively at at least 2 corners. Say Marte plays right and Hays plays left we are above average there but what about 3rd and first. Even if a healthier steer hits decent at first we are still inadequate offensively at 3rd and DH. We will be paying $15 million for one corner/DH not to play in candelario and $8 million for the next four years for Hayes and his career .650 ops. We will not be able to afford a big free agent corner or DH run producing bat. Maybe CES gets more selective on what he swings at and further develops.
It’s a pipe dream but if Kyle Schwarber truly wants to come home and play in Cincinnati for his Middletown faithful then Hayes lack of offense at 3B won’t even matter. His defense alone will be worth running him out there everyday. Schwarber’s offense from the DH spot will more than make up for it. You can have weak hitting starters who are glove first as long as others parts of the lineup generate the offense you’re missing from that player.
You really think 2026 will be all that different?
That’s what they are counting on.
They won’t change until people vote with their presence and their wallets.
But people fall for their shtick every year.
Aren’t you being just a little hypocritical suggesting people boycott going to games to protest the FO? I don’t know if you actually go to games or if you only sit under your bridge glued to your keyboard. There are fans out here who don’t want to trade our future for two months of trying to get into the playoffs one year and done. Just a couple of years ago we were consistently losing 90 games a year. Krall and company have done a remarkable job with drafting and trades to start to turn this mess around. Since you are not falling for their “shtick” now is a good time to find a team more to your liking and follow them. And take your poison with you.
The next Mantle.
No, he didn’t blow out his knee early in his career like the Mick,
I love it. There is maybe a 1% chance the Reds are a legit contender this year. But that’s far better than the 0% I’m used to.
And the Reds went dumpster diving. And the front office gave the fans a big FU.
Tiger, it’s been the same since 2022, yet people defend it and still think it will change.