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Reds Acquire Archie Bradley

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The Reds have acquired closer Archie Bradley in a last-second deadline deal with the Diamondbacks, per announcements from both clubs. Utility man Josh VanMeter and outfield prospect Stuart Fairchild are headed to the D-backs in return for Bradley, and Arizona will also reportedly kick in $100K to help cover Bradley’s remaining salary.

Archie Bradley |Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Bradley, 28, is in his second season as Arizona’s primary closing option and has been a quality member of the ’pen for the past four years now. The former No. 7 overall pick was long one of the game’s most highly regarded pitching prospects, but he struggled in 34 big league starts before finding a home in the D-backs’ relief corp. Dating back to 2017, Bradley has pitched to a strong 2.98 ERA and 3.17 FIP with averages of 10.1 strikeouts, 3.2 walks and 0.7 homers per nine innings (despite pitching in a hitter-friendly home park).

Controlled through the 2021 season, Bradley agreed to a $4.1MM salary in arbitration this past winter. That’s been prorated to about $1.48MM in this year’s shortened schedule, and roughly $617K of that sum remains to be paid out. He’ll be eligible for arbitration once more this winter.

Bullpen help has been a major area of need for the Reds throughout the 2020 season, as their relievers have combined to post a grisly 5.48 ERA and 5.20 FIP. Closer Raisel Iglesias has struggled to an ERA north of 5.00, while some of his top projected setup men, Michael Lorenzen (6.75 ERA) and Pedro Strop (designated for assignment) have not risen to the occasion. Cincinnati has received strong showings from Amir Garrett, Lucas Sims and Tejay Antone, but an established arm has long looked a sensible addition as they look to tread water in a disappointing NL Central that has seen the Cubs pull away from the pack for the division lead. The Reds, Cardinals and Brewers are all sub-.500 clubs vying for a second-place seed and perhaps a Wild Card spot.

As with most of the Diamondbacks’ trades today — Arizona also sent Starling Marte to the Marlins, Robbie Ray to the Blue Jays and Andrew Chafin to the Cubs — they’ll pick up an MLB-ready asset who can jump right onto the roster in VanMeter. The D-backs also added lefty Caleb Smith in the Marte swap and lefty Travis Bergen in the Ray deal. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen and his staff have regularly chosen to prioritize controllable MLB pieces as the returns in their trades rather than pure prospects, and that trend carries over to the Bradley swap as well.

VanMeter, 25, is out to a 2-for-34 start in 2020 but posted a .237/.327/.408 slash in 260 plate appearances last year. He’s also a career .287/.353/.536 hitter in 573 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, pointing to potential for growth at the plate. Beyond his minor league track record, VanMeter possesses plenty of positional versatility, which is another hallmark of D-backs players under Hazen’s watch. He’s primarily been a second baseman in the big leagues but also carries experience at all four corner positions (plus 810 minor league innings at shortstop).

That said, Fairchild is very arguably the bigger get for the D-backs in this deal. A second-round pick in 2017, he’s regarded as an above-average runner with an above-average arm and the ability to play all three outfield slots. Fairchild posted big numbers in two very pitcher-friendly leagues last year, slashing .258/.335/.440 (130 wRC+) in Class-A Advanced and .275/.380/.444 (142 wRC+) with just a 12.8 percent strikeout rate in Double-A.

Fairchild was generally ranked in the Reds’ top 15 prospects, landing 10th at Baseball America, 11th at MLB.com, 13th at FanGraphs. That there’s not a more highly regarded prospect within the deal likely speaks to several factors: the team’s opinion of VanMeter and Fairchild as well as some possible pressure from ownership to reduce payroll.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal (via Twitter). John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports reported the return (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan added that the D-backs were sending $100K to Cincinnati as well.

Reds Acquire Brian Goodwin

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In a trade snuck in just under the deadline wire, the Reds have picked up outfielder Brian Goodwin from the Angels, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  The Angels officially announced the deal, revealing that the return is left-hander Packy Naughton, as well as either cash or a player to be named later.

Goodwin can play all three outfield positions, though his likeliest deployment in Cincinnati is left field or center field, giving the Reds an upgrade over Shogo Akiyama and rookie Mark Payton.  Once Nick Senzel returns from the injured list, the Reds will be able to juggle some combination of Senzel, Goodwin, Jesse Winker, and Nick Castellanos between the three outfield spots and the DH position.

Over 109 PA with the Angels this season, Goodwin has hit .242/.330/.463 (113 wRC+, 114 OPS+) with four home runs.  It marks Goodwin’s second straight year of good production in Anaheim, after being claimed off waivers from the Royals in March 2019 and originally slated as a fill-in for an injured Justin Upton.  The 34th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Goodwin was a well-regarded prospect coming up in the Nationals’ farm system but became expendable since Washington had several other outfielders in the pipeline.  He is already 29, so is perhaps something of a post-hype breakout player, but Goodwin has shown that he can contribute as an everyday player.

This gives the Reds extra outfield depth going forward, as Goodwin is controlled via arbitration through the 2022 season.  Senzel and Winker don’t appear to be going anywhere and Akiyama is signed through 2022, plus Castellanos’ $64MM contract runs through the 2023 season.  Goodwin’s presence could give the Reds a plan B if Castellanos exercises either of the opt-out clauses in his contract (after this season or after the 2021 season).

Naughton was a last-second addition to the Reds’ 60-man player pool, which allowed him to be dealt to L.A. now rather than officially traded in a few months time as a player to be named later.  A ninth-round pick out of Virginia Tech in the 2017 draft, Naughton has a 3.59 ERA, 3.72 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 371 career minor league innings, starting 68 of his 70 games.  MLB Pipeline ranked Naughton 14th in their list of the top 30 Cincinnati prospects, describing him as a “cerebral pitcher” whose “stuff doesn’t wow people, but it’s still considered a good enough three-pitch mix where he has the feel for his fastball (87-94 mph), slider and changeup.”

Reds Recall Joel Kuhnel, Place Jesse Biddle On IL

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The Reds placed Jesse Biddle on the 10-day IL after injuring his left shoulder, the team announced. Right-hander Joel Kuhnel was recalled to take his roster spot.

Biddle made just one appearance for the Reds this year. He entered the game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth inning on Thursday night. He walked one and struck out one to end the sixth, stayed in the game to start the seventh and surrendered a single to Avisail Garcia before retiring Christian Yelich on a groundout.

The 28-year-old Biddle joined the Reds as a non-roster invitee this winter after seeing time in the majors the two seasons prior. He debuted with the Braves in 2018, but the southpaw made appearances for the Braves, Mariners, and Rangers in 2019. His stints with all three clubs were relatively short: He made 30 appearances split between the three, working 28 innings to a 8.36 ERA/6.46 FIP. Biddle has been a reverse-splits southpaw thus far in his short career with lefties hitting .301/.384/.469 across 165 plate appearances, while he’s held right-handed hitters to a triple slash of .235/.355/.357 over 257 plate appearances.

The Reds drafted Kuhnel in the 11th round of the 2016 draft, and he made his debut last season. He is currently the Reds #27 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline. This season he made one appearance for the Reds out of the bullpen before being optioned back to the alternate training site on August 12th. The 6’4″ thick-bodied right-hander relies mostly on a two-pitch mix featuring a 95 to 96 mph heater and slide, also occasionally mixing in a change-up or sinker. He took the hill 11 times for the Reds in 2019, working to a 4.66 ERA over 9 2/3 innings. Command has been a problem at times for Kuhnel, and he doesn’t have overpowering swing-and-miss stuff, but he nonetheless made it work while marching steadily through the Reds’ system. He put together 41 appearances with a 2.18 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019.

Reds Not Planning To Sell At Trade Deadline

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The Reds have won three straight games to improve to a 14-17 record, putting them one game out of second place (and an automatic playoff berth) in the NL Central and one game out of the NL wild card race.  With the postseason still within reach, Cincinnati isn’t planning to sell any meaningful pieces by Monday’s trade deadline, and if anything will be deadline buyers, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson (audio link) has the same information, with the intriguing tidbit that “a Twins official” was recently told by the Reds that Trevor Bauer wasn’t going to be dealt.  This would seem to imply that Minnesota had some interest in Bauer, and could now turn their attention at another front-of-the-rotation type if Bauer isn’t on the market.

Bauer will be a free agent after the season, though moving him would subtract from a rotation that has thus far been the Reds’ biggest strength.  As for the rest of the team, as Heyman puts it, the “Reds mainly need to get hitters and relievers to play to their abilities.”  Eugenio Suarez, Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto, Shogo Akiyama, and Tucker Barnhart have all yet to heat up at the plate, while the struggles of the normally reliable late-game duo of Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen have been a big reason why the Reds bullpen ranks 23rd in ERA and 29th in HR/9.

Adding a new arm to the relief corps seems like a logical move, though upgrading the lineup may be slightly more difficult, as so many of their struggling stars are entrenched in their positions (though longtime franchise icon Votto has been benched for the last three games).  With Nick Senzel on the injured list, left or center field could be an area of need, as Akiyama and rookie Mark Payton have been getting the bulk of playing time with Senzel out and the scorching-hot Jesse Winker alternating between left field and DH.  From a more speculative point of view, Cincinnati could also look to replace Barnhart with a more productive catching option — Red Sox backstop Christian Vazquez would cost the most in prospects, though other potential trade candidates include the Angels’ Jason Castro or the Mariners’ Austin Nola.

Rays Acquire Cody Reed

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The Rays have acquired left-hander Cody Reed from the Reds for righty Riley O’Brien, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. To make room for Reed, Tampa Bay placed newly acquired outfielder Brett Phillips on the COVID-19 injured list as he goes through intake protocols, the team announced. Meanwhile, O’Brien is now a member of the Reds’ 60-man player pool, per Rosecrans.

The Reds designated Reed for assignment earlier this week after he started 2020 with 9 1/3 innings of 10-hit, six-earned run ball with 10 strikeouts and eight walks. But the 27-year-old was effective for Cincinnati in 2018-19, and the AL East-leading Rays are in a position where they need to acquire pitching help in the wake of several injuries – including to notable bullpen arms in Nick Anderson, Jose Alvarado, Jalen Beeks, Oliver Drake, Andrew Kittredge, Colin Poche and Chaz Roe.

In the event Reed turns things around in a Rays uniform, he could be a multiyear piece for the club, as he’s not due to reach free agency until after 2024. However, Reed doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, so he’ll have to stick on the Rays’ MLB roster or be subjected to the waiver wire.

The Reds are getting a promising farmhand in O’Brien, a 25-year-old who made his Double-A debut in 2019 and registered a 3.93 ERA/3.49 FIP with 9.44 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 45.7 percent groundball rate in 68 2/3 innings. Prior to the trade, O’Brien ranked as a top 25 Rays prospect at MLB.com (No. 20), Baseball America (24) and FanGraphs (24). MLB.com, the most bullish of those outlets, writes that O’Brien has the potential to amount to a mid-rotation starter or “a late-inning force,” depending on whether he’s able to improve his control.

Reds Designate Phillip Ervin, Place Wade Miley On IL, Sign Jay Jackson

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The Reds have made several moves, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic was among those to report. They’ve designated outfielder Phillip Ervin for assignment; placed left-hander Wade Miley on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder issue; activated right-hander Anthony DeSclafani from the paternity list; signed righty Jay Jackson to a minor league contract; and recalled righty Jose De Leon from their alternate site.

Now 28 years old, Ervin’s a former Reds first-round pick (No. 27 in 2013) who typically posted strong production in the minors before earning his first big league promotion in 2017. Ervin’s major league numbers hovered around the league-average mark from then through last season, but he got off to a rough start this year before the Reds booted him from their roster. Over 42 plate appearances in 2020, Ervin has hit an ugly .086/.238/.086 without a home run. Between that awful output and his lack of minor league options, he may have trouble landing anywhere else in the next week.

This is the second IL placement of the year for Miley, who previously missed time with a groin strain. When Miley has been healthy, he has only managed a 6.57 ERA/4.86 FIP across four starts and 12 1/3 innings, though he did throw four scoreless frames against the Brewers on Thursday. DeSclafani will replace him in the Reds’ rotation and rejoin the excellent trio of Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo, with Tyler Mahle also in the mix.

The 32-year-old Jackson’s most recent MLB experience came last year as a member of the Brew Crew, with whom he logged a 4.45 ERA/4.66 FIP and recorded 13.95 K/9 against 5.34 BB/9 across 30 1/3 innings. Jackson then signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball and tossed seven innings of three-run ball with 12 strikeouts and three walks this year before returning stateside. He’ll report to the Reds’ alternate training site for the time being.

Multiple Games On Wednesday Postponed

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8:28pm: The league issued a statement expressing support for those who opted out of playing Wednesday. “Given the pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight. MLB remains united for change in our society & we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice.”

8:04pm: Dodgers-Giants has also been postponed, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. The plan is for the two to play a doubleheader Wednesday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays.

7:27pm: “We’re likely to play tomorrow,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said (via Jeff Passan of ESPN). The league has since confirmed that the Brewers and Reds will play a doubleheader Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Mariners and Padres figure to do the same, Acee suggests.

6:08pm: The Mariners have voted against playing their game versus the Padres tonight, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. The game has been postponed, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

5:07pm: The Brewers have elected against playing Wednesday’s game against the Reds, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal reports. The club made the decision in response to the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. The Reds are on board with the Brewers’ choice, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.

The Brewers are the second Milwaukee pro team to make this move, following the NBA’s Bucks, who aren’t playing their scheduled playoff contest against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. The NBA decided after that to postpone all of its postseason games for the day, and it’s unclear if or when the league will resume in 2020.

As the Brewers were deciding whether to play Wednesday, star reliever Josh Hader said (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today): “It’s a tremendous stand. We have to bring light to this situation that we have, it’s a big thing.”

The Brewers and Reds are slated to pick up their series Thursday in Milwaukee, but it’s unknown whether that will happen or whether they’ll play a doubleheader if they do take the field then.

Reds Designate Pedro Strop, Select Jose Garcia

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The Reds announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Pedro Strop from the injured list and designated him for assignment. In other moves, the club selected infielder Jose Garcia and optioned outfielder Travis Jankowski to its alternate site.

If this is the end of the right-handed Strop’s run with the Reds, it’ll go down as short-lived and unmemorable. The former Ranger, Oriole and Cub signed with the Reds for a one-year, $1.825MM guarantee in the winter, but he threw a mere 2 1/3 innings of three-run ball (one earned) before landing on the IL earlier this month with a right groin strain. The 35-year-old Strop does bring a quality MLB track record to the table, though, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him end up with another team if he’s healthy.

The Reds aren’t wasting any time with Garcia, who will start at shortstop for the team Wednesday. It’s a big leap for the 22-year-old Garcia, who hasn’t yet played above High-A ball, where he slashed .280/.343/.436 with eight home runs and 15 stolen bases in 452 plate appearances last season. Garcia’s now the Reds’ seventh-ranked prospect at Baseball America, which writes that he has the potential “to jump to the top of Cincinnati’s system with continued performance.”

Reds Select Jesse Biddle

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The Reds have selected left-hander Jesse Biddle’s contract, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. The team also placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the paternity list and put infielder Jose Garcia on its taxi squad.

Biddle was a Reds offseason minor league signing who divided 2018-19 among the Braves, Mariners and Rangers. His career began quite well during his first year, in which Biddle tossed 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA/3.88 FIP ball with 9.47 K/9, 4.38 BB/9 and a 55.6 percent groundball rate. But things went south last year for Biddle, who could only muster an 8.36 ERA/6.46 FIP in 28 innings, owing largely to a horrid 7.07 BB/9 and an almost 10 percent drop in grounder rate.

The 28-year-old Biddle will now join a Reds bullpen that, like the team itself, has underwhelmed this season. Reds relievers will go into Tuesday 26th in the majors in ERA and 23rd in FIP.

Reds Designate Cody Reed

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The Reds have designated left-hander Cody Reed for assignment, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among those to report. The club reinstated righty Robert Stephenson in a corresponding move.

Reed, now 27, joined the Reds in the team’s 2015 trade with the Royals centering on righty Johnny Cueto. Reed debuted in the majors the next season, but he didn’t begin truly making his mark in the bigs until 2018. Between then and last season, Reed tossed 49 1/3 innings of 3.65 ERA/3.59 FIP ball with 8.94 K/9, 2.92 BB/9 and an exemplary 63.2 percent groundball rate. Reed wasn’t able to carry that success into this season, though, as he allowed six earned runs on 10 hits and eight walks (10 strikeouts) in 9 1/3 frames before the Reds jettisoned him. They’ll have a week to trade, release or send Reed through waivers, though he’s out of minor league options.

Stephenson, 27, made his sole appearance of the year July 25 before landing on the IL with a back injury. He was a key part of the Reds’ bullpen last year, when he amassed 64 2/3 frames of 3.76 ERA/3.63 FIP ball with 11.27 K/9 and 3.34 BB/9.

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