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Reds Notes: Sims, Antone, Senzel

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The Braves are planning to activate Travis d’Arnaud from the 60-day injured list this week, possibly on Tuesday when the team begins a series with the Reds.  Manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that d’Arnaud is slated to catch all nine innings of a minor league rehab game tomorrow, representing a final step in his recovery from surgery to repair a thumb ligament.  A Silver Slugger winner in 2020, d’Arnaud hasn’t played since May 1 of this season, contributing to Atlanta’s near-total dearth of production from the catcher position.

  • Some bullpen reinforcements look to be on the way for the Reds, as Lucas Sims might be activated from the 10-day IL on Sunday, and Tejay Antone could be ready sometime this week.  Both relievers went on the injured list in the final week of June — Sims with a sprained right elbow, and Antone with a right forearm strain.  Reds manager David Bell told Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters that Sims has “a pretty strong chance” of returning tomorrow, while Antone’s timeline is more tentative since he was only scheduled to begin his rehab assignment today.  “We want to get him back as quick as we can, but we want to do it in a way that is best for Tejay, and we can have him for the rest of the year and he doesn’t have to deal with this anymore at all, even next year or beyond,” Bell said.
  • Nick Senzel’s status is even more uncertain, as Bell said Senzel is “still not recovering exactly how we would want him to” after a week of rehab games.  Senzel underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at the end of May, and was initially given a recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks.  Things are open-ended enough that Bell said Senzel might return to the Reds within a couple of days if he shows improvement, but for now, the oft-injured Senzel is once again sidelined.

Reds Activate Mike Moustakas From Injured List

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The Reds reinstated third baseman Mike Moustakas from the 60-day injured list this afternoon. He’s in the lineup tonight against the Pirates, hitting fifth and starting at third base. Utilityman Mike Freeman was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to clear an active roster spot. To create 40-man roster space, Cincinnati transferred reliever Michael Feliz from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

It’s a welcome time for Cincinnati to get Moustakas back, as they enter play today having closed the gap on the Padres to 3.5 games in the race for the National League’s final Wild Card spot. It’ll be Moustakas’ first game action in nearly three months, as the 32-year-old landed on the shelf with a right heel issue on May 20.  He embarked on a minor league rehab assignment a few weeks later but re-aggravated the injury in mid-June.

Before the injury, Moustakas was hitting at a decent but unspectacular level. He’s managed a .241/.337/.437 line over 104 plate appearances after putting up a .230/.331/.468 mark last season, his first in Cincinnati. The Reds signed Moustakas with hopes of moving the longtime third baseman over to second. With Jonathan India now in the majors and performing very well at the keystone, Moustakas has played exclusively in the corner infield in 2021.

That’ll continue to be the case, albeit with a twist relative to earlier in the season. The Reds opened the year with Moustakas at third and Eugenio Suárez at shortstop. Suárez struggled mightily in his move up the defensive spectrum, though, and kicked back over to third after Moustakas went down (with Kyle Farmer getting the bulk of playing time at short). The generally-productive Suárez has had a miserable season at the plate as well, and he’s now set to lose some playing time. Manager David Bell told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that the Reds will platoon the lefty-hitting Moustakas and right-handed Suárez, at least for the immediate future.

Suárez was one of the game’s top power threats between 2018-19, when he hit .277/.362/.550 and popped a combined 83 home runs. That lofty offensive output fell to league average last season, and he owns a .177/.260/.379 mark over 438 plate appearances this year. Suárez has hit another 22 homers, but he’s striking out at a career-worst 30.4% clip while walking in 8.9% of his trips to the plate, his lowest rate since 2016.

With the Reds in a playoff race, it makes sense to curtail Suárez’s workload a bit as he continues to struggle. He’s still under contract for $11MM per season from 2022-24 under the terms of the extension he signed in March 2018. It stands to reason he’ll get another extended look at some point, but installing Moustakas into the lineup against right-handed pitching should give the offense a boost in the short term.

Feliz’s transfer to the 60-day IL is a formality, as he has been out since June 8 with a right elbow sprain. He’s out for sixty days from the time of his original placement, so he’ll be eligible for activation whenever he’s ready to return. Feliz is currently rehabbing with Louisville, so he should be back in relatively short order. That’s also true of fellow bullpen mate Lucas Sims, who could be back with the big league club as soon as this weekend, according to Bell (via Nightengale).

Reds Sign Ender Inciarte To Minor League Deal

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The Reds signed Ender Inciarte to a minor league deal, according to a club announcement. The outfielder was recently designated for assignment and then released by the Braves. He will now report to the Triple-A Louisville Bats and attempt to earn his way back up the show.

That seems to be a somewhat unlikely scenario at this point, given that the Reds already have superior outfield options such as Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Tyler Naquin and Aristides Aquino. The return of Nick Senzel, who is currently on a rehab assignment, would only further crowd the picture and make it harder for Inciarte to barge his way in.

Inciarte’s offence was near league average for the first six years of his career. From 2014 to 2019, his wRC+ was never higher than 100 and never lower than 86 in a given season. Combined with his excellent defence, that made him a valuable player, contributing 14.2 fWAR in that time. But since then, his production has fallen off a cliff, with a wRC+ of 48 since the start of the 2020 season.

This is a no-risk move for Cincy because Inciarte’s salary is being paid by Atlanta as part of the five-year extension they signed with him after the 2016 season. Even if Cincinnati eventually calls him up to the big leagues, they will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what Atlanta pays.

Reds Notes: Bryant, Turner, Castellanos, Sims

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The Reds had a fairly quiet deadline, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported this week that they pursued at least one outside-the-box upgrade to their lineup: Kris Bryant. Cincinnati viewed Bryant as a possible option in center field, but would only have been able to acquire him in the event that the Cubs paid the remaining $6.8MM on his contract between the deadline and the end of the season. The Reds also at least looked into Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, Rosenthal adds, though those talks never became particularly serious.

It stands to reason that if the Reds would’ve needed the Cubs to cover the remainder of Bryant’s contract, the same would’ve held true with the Nationals in a deal for Turner, who is earning $13MM in 2021 and was owed $4.5MM from July 31 through season’s end. He’ll also be in line for a considerable raise via arbitration this winter, and Turner would have naturally come with a higher cost of acquisition, from a prospect standpoint, due that extra year of control.

In the end, the Reds’ deadline brought them a trio relievers in Mychal Givens, Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson, all of whom were acquired at minimal prospect cost. They’ll deepen a Reds relief corps that ranks 28th in the Majors with a 5.34 ERA and currently has two of its best relievers, Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims, on the injured list.

More out of Cincinnati…

  • The Reds could get slugger Nick Castellanos back in the lineup as soon as today, writes Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The 29-year-old Castellanos sustained a microfracture in his wrist when he was hit by a pitch three weeks ago. Initial X-rays didn’t catch the fracture, which led to Castellanos making some pinch-hit appearances while playing through considerable discomfort, but a CT scan eventually revealed the damage. Castellanos said back on July 21 that was unable to swing a bat, but Nightengale notes that Castellanos has taken batting practice three times this week. Manager David Bell said the club’s primary concern is getting Castellanos “back to full strength” so he doesn’t develop any poor mechanics as compensation for a lack of strength in the wrist. Castellanos, who can opt out of the final two years of his contract this offseason, has mashed at a .329/.383/.582 pace and clubbed 18 home runs through 368 plate appearances in 2021.
  • Injured righty Lucas Sims is progressing through a rehab assignment and made his fourth appearance with Triple-A Louisville last night. Bell told reporters recently that the plan was to build Sims up to pitch in back-to-back games (link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com), which he’s yet to do. Still, the fact that he’s progressed through four rehab outings, seemingly without issue, suggests a return sooner than later for the righty, who’d been on a lights-out hot streak before getting clobbered for three runs without recording an out on June 22. Sims was placed on the injured list with an elbow sprain the next day. Sims has had three particularly tough outings in 2021, including that final appearance before going on the injured list, but has generally been solid otherwise. His 5.02 ERA is skewed by that handful of rough outings, but Sims carries vastly more encouraging marks in FIP (3.44), SIERA (3.20) and strikeout percentage (34.9). A healthy Sims would be a major boost to the Reds’ bullpen as they push to close a four-game gap in the Wild Card standings.

July Headlines: National League

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This year’s trade season did not disappoint. After a wild couple of days, we’re gonna do our best to recap the action from one of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory. Let’s start with the headlines coming out of the Senior Circuit this month…

The Champs Are Still The Champs: This phrase, in many ways, could serve as an ironic headline for this year’s trade deadline, as we saw the dismantling of a couple of former championship teams. The reigning champ, however, was not one of them. The Dodgers reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the National League by making the splashiest move of the deadline in acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals.

The Dodgers stepped up, and now they have perhaps the most intimidating starter of his generation slotted into a rotation with Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher of his generation, along with young stud Walker Buehler. It’s an amazing collection of talent for a single team.

That said, the Turner acquisition might be even more impactful, as he’s under team control  through next season. Turner and Mookie Betts as a 1-2 punch in the lineup are devastating. Interestingly, the Dodgers also got Corey Seager back from the injured list today, and it remains to be seen how the Dodgers will deploy their pair of All-Star shortstops (to say nothing of Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor). The Dodgers have options now and for the future. Remember, Seager is a free agent after the season. They can still bring back their World Series MVP at the right price point, but they won’t be pressured to now that they have Turner in the fold.

The Padres Don’t Land Mad Max: The trade deadline madness really began on Thursday night when it was announced that the Padres and Nats had agreed on the players involved in a Scherzer deal. That didn’t sit well with the Dodgers, who swooped in to remind the Padres of who still runs the West. The Padres were expected to turn their attention to Jose Berrios, but they weren’t able to get him either.

At the end of the day, the Padres didn’t get Scherzer, Berrios, Joey Gallo, or any other of the big names. They did add Adam Frazier, a versatile defender and good contact hitter, along with Daniel Hudson, who is a legitimate get for the bullpen, and Jake Marisnick, who compliments their centerfield options nicely, even if he’s not much more than a depth piece. It was a less impactful deadline than expected, but what’s worse: Fernando Tatis Jr. promptly reaggravated his shoulder injury. Add it all up, and the swing from potentially acquiring Scherzer to potentially losing Tatis is enough to give any Padres fan whiplash.

Giants Add Bryant: The Padres took a big swing and missed, the Dodgers took their swing and connected, and sure to form, the Giants played the deadline slow and steady. Does the tortoise win again? Time will tell, but the Giants did ultimately nab a former MVP in Kris Bryant without giving up a top prospect. Bryant fits their profile like a glove, and he’ll be able to fill in at third until Evan Longoria returns and then move to the outfield.

Remember: The Giants have a three-game head start on LA and a five-game lead on the Padres. Adding Bryant has game-changing potential, while Tony Watson was a solid, low-key add to the pen. The Dodgers are scary, but if the Giants keep playing their game, LA may find themselves in the wild card game anyway.

Cubs Collapse, Dismantle 2016 World Series Champs: In a vacuum, the Cubs had a pretty good deadline. They added a number of buzzy, interesting young players like Nick Madrigal, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Alexander Canario. But it came at a cost. After years of rumors, Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez were finally shipped out of town, along with Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Marisnick, and Trevor Williams. New players — and new narratives — are long overdue in Chicago, and the next chapter awaits.

Nationals Collapse, Dismantle 2019 World Series Champs: It’s appropriate that the Cubs are in DC to play the Nats this weekend, because really, the two clubs are mirror images of one another, right down to their interconnecting pieces like Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester. Both teams were trying to contend on the legs of recent title teams, both teams had disastrous months of July, and both clubs desperately needed an influx of young talent. Both teams got it on Friday.

The Nats farm system was even more barren than Chicago’s and their need to restock even direr given the presence of young superstud Juan Soto. So Washington said their fare-thee-wells to  Scherzer, Turner, Hudson, and Yan Gomes from the title team, plus recent additions Lester, Schwarber, Brad Hand, and Josh Harrison. GM Mike Rizzo does not sell off pieces willy nilly, but in doing so, they got some high-end, near-ready pieces as they look to quickly rebuild a contender in context around Soto before the Scott Boras client reaches free agency after the 2024 season.

Brewers Take Their Place Atop The NL Central: Milwaukee made their big acquisition back in May, and Willy Adames has transformed himself and the club since his arrival. They were last under .500 on the day before Adames arrived, they’ve gone 41-19 since and taken firm hold of the NL Central. Still, some tinkering remained on the docket for July, as the Brewers picked up Eduardo Escobar, Rowdy Tellez, John Curtiss, and Daniel Norris.

Injuries Keeping Mets From Runaway Division Title: The Mets left deadline day with a more acute awareness of what they lost than what they gained: Jacob deGrom has been shut down for another couple of weeks, leaving the all-world hurler out until at least September. That’s heartbreaking for a Mets team with a clear path to an NL East title. Plenty of upside remains in the Mets rotation with Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker posting career years, Carlos Carrasco set to make his debut, and Tylor Megill providing the surprising rookie breakout contenders seek. Still, deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are questionable at best for the rest of the season, and the only rotation additions the Mets made at the deadline were Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.

They did, however, account for Francisco Lindor’s injury by adding Javier Baez, Lindor’s friend and countrymate who can ably fill in while Lindor is out and then slide to second or third when he returns. Baez isn’t, perhaps, the former Cub that Mets fans expected, but he’s an excellent fit alongside Lindor and should bolster the pitching staff with his stellar glove — even if acquiring him did cost them a former first-rounder in Crow-Armstrong.

Braves Lose Acuna For The Season: The deadline might have looked a lot different for Atlanta had they not lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season back on July 10th. Without Acuna and Mike Soroka, the Braves weren’t expected to make any major swings at contention. But even a 13-12 July was enough to keep them within four games of first. A fourth consecutive NL East title remains in reach. So they nabbed one of the top available relief arms in Richard Rodriguez, as well as, seemingly, all the outfielders: Jorge Soler, old pal Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Joc Pederson, plus Stephen Vogt to reinforce their catching corps.

Soft Buys From The Fringes Of Contention: The Giants and Dodgers made headline additions, while the Nats and Cubs took a firm step away from contention. In the middle, there were a number of clubs that neither sold the farm nor raised the white flag. Such as…

…the Phillies… who seemed poised to add a bevy of arms given their bullpen situation, not to mention a starting rotation that’s received underwhelming performances from the back end. Instead, only Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy came to help, and they cost the Phillies’ top prospect Spencer Howard. Howard’s handling had been in question all season, and now he’s been served an unceremonious end to his Philly tenure. Gibson’s had a fine season thus far with the Rangers, but his groundball approach will be tested in front of Philly’s subpar infield defense. Sure, Freddy Galvis brings his glove back to help out, but will that be enough?

…and the Reds… who looked to undo their winter penny-pinching by restocking the bullpen. Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa, and Mychal Givens will try to help a bullpen that ranks 29th with a 5.31 ERA. The Reds’ inconsistent play in July kept them squarely on the deadline fence, however, and now that Nick Castellanos is on the injured list, they’re seven games behind the Brewers and looking like longshots for the postseason.

…and the Cardinals…who added a few pieces at the deadline, despite being 9.5 games behind the Brewers and 6.5 out of a wild card spot. The additions were modest, however, as St. Louis went on a run of graybeard southpaws in July, adding 36-year-old Wade LeBlanc, 37-year-old Jon Lester, and 38-year-old J.A. Happ to a rotation fronted by 39-year-old Adam Wainwright and caught by 39-year-old Yadier Molina.

Cellar Dwellers Sell: The Marlins, Pirates, and Diamondbacks, each in last place of their respective divisions, made some moves to turn expiring talent into youth for the future. The Marlins added the biggest fish in Jesus Luzardo, but the Pirates did well for themselves, too, by adding some plug-and-play talent like Michael Chavis from Boston and Bryse Wilson from Atlanta, while also grabbing two prospects from Seattle for Tyler Anderson. The Dbacks weren’t quite as active, but they did move Escobar and Joakim Soria, though a COVID-19 outbreak has brought more pressing issues to their attention.

The Rockies Don’t Trade Trevor Story Or Jon Gray: The most perplexing moves of the deadline were the trades that didn’t happen. Despite having no shot at contention in a division with zero margin for error (in the short-and-long term), the Rockies chose to stand pat rather than build for the future. Holding Gray is one thing, but Story has stated his desire to move on, so their decision not to acquire a prospect or two for him before he walks might be the biggest shock of deadline season.

Twins Claim Edgar Garcia From Reds

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The Twins announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Edgar Garcia off waivers from the Reds and optioned him to Triple-A St. Paul. Cincinnati designated Garcia for assignment earlier in the week.

The 24-year-old Garcia has seen MLB time with the Phillies, Rays and Reds but limped to a 7.14 ERA in 46 1/3 innings. His Triple-A numbers are quite good, however, as he’s pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate and 10.2 percent walk rate in 57 2/3 innings. Garcia averaged 95.1 mph on his heater in his brief time with the Reds and is in the last of his three minor-league option years. He can be shuttled between Triple-A and the big league roster for the rest of the season if the Twins choose, but he’ll be out of options next spring.

Rockies Acquire Ashton Goudeau

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The Rockies announced Thursday that they’ve acquired right-hander Ashton Goudeau from the Reds in exchange for cash. Cincinnati had designated Goudeau for assignment earlier in the week.

The 29-year-old Goudeau’s transaction log reads like something from a video game. Originally a Royals draft selection, Goudeau went to the Mariners in exchange for cash in 2018. He elected free agency at season’s end, signed with the Rockies and has since been claimed off waivers an astonishing six times. Goudeau has gone from Colorado, to Pittsburgh, to Baltimore, to San Francisco, to Los Angeles, back to Colorado and then to Cincinnati. He’s now back with the Rockies for a third time in exchange for what figures to be a nominal amount of cash. It’s been a tumultuous couple of years for him, but on the plus side, Goudeau has continued to accumulate MLB service and MLB pay throughout his many stops in DFA limbo.

Despite that staggering amount of waiver activity, Goudeau has only actually pitched for two of those teams in the Majors: the Reds and Rockies. He’s allowed 11 runs in 17 1/3 innings at the MLB level, but teams continue to be intrigued by his raw stuff despite the lack of success either in the Majors or in Triple-A (where he has a 6.59 ERA in 68 1/3 innings).

Reds Designate Josh Osich For Assignment

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The Reds announced that they’ve designated lefty Josh Osich for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for right-hander Mychal Givens, whose previously reported acquisition from the Rockies has now been formally announced by the club.

Osich, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Reds last December and has pitched 14 1/3 innings out of the bullpen this season. He’s yielded nine runs (eight earned) on 15 hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in that time, resulting in a 5.02 ERA. Those numbers are in line with Osich’s career marks; he’s spent parts of seven seasons in the Majors with five big league clubs, pitching to a combined 5.02 ERA, a 20.7 percent strikeout rate and a 9.0 percent walk rate.

The Reds can try to find a trade partner for Osich between now and Friday’s deadline, but it seems likelier that they’ll place him on outright waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Osich has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville and instead test free agency.

Reds Acquire Mychal Givens

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The Reds have added their third bullpen arm in the past 12 hours, announcing the acquisition of right-hander Mychal Givens from the Rockies. Colorado will receive minor league right-handers Case Williams and Noah Davis in return. Cincinnati also picked up Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson from the Yankees in a late trade last night.

Mychal Givens | D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Givens, 31, will join the Reds as a rental for the remainder of the season before becoming a free agent. He’s being paid $4.05MM this year and has about $1.48MM of that sum yet to be paid out between now and season’s end. The longtime Orioles righty landed in Colorado at last year’s deadline, and while he had a bit of a rough time in May before eventually landing on the IL with a back strain, he’s been sharp as of late.

Overall, Givens has a 2.73 ERA on the year, which he’s complemented with strong 27.4 percent strikeout rate but an elevated 11.3 percent walk rate. His 31.3 percent ground-ball rate is, as usual, well below the league average. Givens has always been more of a fly-ball pitcher, and while he managed to avoid many home runs early in his career in spite of that tendency (and in spite of the AL East), he’s been more homer-prone in recent years. Dating back to 2019, he’s yielded 23 home runs in 115 frames (1.8 HR/9).

Still, Givens is an accomplished reliever with a long track record of missing bats and performing in high-leverage situations. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in six of his seven MLB seasons (2021 included) and fanned at least a quarter of his opponents in all seven of his seasons — even earlier in his career when the league-wide strikeout rate was demonstrably lower than in today’s Major League climate.

Bullpen help has been an acute need for Cincinnati for much of the season, as the Reds have dealt with injuries to key relievers Tejay Antone, Michael Lorenzen and Lucas Sims at various points. The Cincinnati bullpen ranks last in the Majors in ERA (5.36) and FIP (4.86). Reds relievers, to their credit, do rank sixth in baseball with a collective 26.7 percent strikeout rate, but they also have the game’s second-highest combined walk rate, at 12 percent. No team’s relief corps has surrendered more home runs than Cincinnati’s 66. Part of that has to be attributed to their homer-friendly home park, but it’s been an ugly year for Reds relievers on the whole.

Of course, much of those bullpen woes have been self-inflicted. The Reds traded closer Raisel Iglesias to the Angels in a salary dump that netted them right-hander Noe Ramirez and Leonardo Rivas. (Ramirez was released in Spring Training and returned to the Angels; he’s now pitching well for the D-backs.) Cincinnati also non-tendered Archie Bradley, their primary deadline pickup from last summer’s trade deadline. Bradley has spent much of the 2021 season on the injured list in Philadelphia but at the time was a rather surprising cut by the Reds.

The subsequent bullpen woes have no doubt played a role in the Reds’ seven-game NL Central deficit and the six-game gap they’re facing in the NL Wild Card standings. The quick flurry of bullpen strikes shows that they’re endeavoring to patch that hole and make a push for a postseason berth in the final third of the season. Given their “early” deals (relative to the rest of the league more so than the trade deadline itself, which is barely more than 48 hours away), it’s likely we’ll see the Reds continue to explore further upgrades.

Williams was the Rockies’ fourth-round pick in last summer’s draft, but he was traded to the Reds alongside Jeff Hoffman in the deal that brought Robert Stephenson and outfield prospect Jameson Hannah to Colorado.

Williams has spent the season with the Reds’ Class-A affiliate, pitching to a 5.55 ERA with nearly as many walks (33) as strikeouts (34) in 47 innings of work. The 19-year-old Williams has also hit six batters and thrown eight wild pitches.

It’s been a rough debut for Williams, but he’s about three years younger than his average competition in that league and is effectively jumping to A-ball after not pitching in more than a year due to last year’s scrapped seasons. The Rockies have seen a good bit of their front office and player evaluation team depart, so it’s perhaps not surprising to see them reacquire a player with whom they’re already rather familiar.

The 24-year-old Davis has made 13 starts with Cincinnati’s Class-A Advanced affiliate in 2021, pitching to a 3.60 ERA with a sharp 27.6 percent strikeout rate but a lofty 12.5 percent walk rate. He’s induced grounders at a 38.9 percent clip.

Davis relies primarily on a four-seamer and slider, per Baseball America, who ranked him as Cincinnati’s No. 15 prospect entering the year. He also throws a curveball that’s a bit behind those offerings. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen currently ranks him 36th in Cincinnati’s system, calling him a potential sixth starter/spot starter and noting that Davis had Tommy John surgery during his junior season at UC Santa Barbara.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported (via Twitter) that the Reds were nearing a deal to acquire Givens. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted that an agreement had been reached. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reported (via Twitter) Williams’ inclusion in the deal. Feinsand added that Davis was the second piece going to Colorado.

Reds Acquire Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson From Yankees

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In a surprise transaction, the Yankees announced they’ve traded relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to the Reds in exchange for a player to be named later. Cincinnati designated Ashton Goudeau and Edgar García for assignment to open 40-man roster space.

The appeal for the Reds is in the addition of Cessa, who was a dependable bullpen arm throughout much of his time in the Bronx. The right-hander is capable of working multiple innings and has been an effective pitcher over the past few years. Since the start of the 2019 campaign, Cessa has tossed 141 innings of 3.64 ERA/4.34 FIP ball. He’s been even more effective this season, working to a career-best 2.82 ERA over 38 1/3 frames.

Cessa doesn’t have the bat-missing stuff of most relievers. His 19.3% strikeout rate is well below the 24.5% league average for bullpen arms, and his swinging strike rate is similarly underwhelming. That’s basically been true throughout Cessa’s entire big league tenure, though, and he’s found a fair amount of success by throwing strikes and avoiding especially damaging contact. The 29-year-old is inducing ground balls at a massive 56.8% clip this year, and Statcast shows he’s been among the top twenty percent of pitchers in suppressing opponents’ average exit velocity, hard contact and barrels.

While the Reds don’t look particularly likely to make the playoffs in 2021, the acquisition of Cessa gives Cincinnati a potential multi-year piece for a bullpen that has been one of the league’s worst this year. The 29-year-old is earning just $1.05MM this season (less than $400K of which remains to be paid), and he’s controllable through 2023 via arbitration. With the Reds no doubt hoping to contend in 2022 (and not yet giving up hope of a late push this season), picking up an affordable, long-term bullpen piece holds obvious appeal.

Wilson has a long track record of productivity, but he’s in the middle of a disappointing campaign. The southpaw put up an ERA below 4.00 each season from 2017-20, but he’s only managed a 7.50 mark through 18 frames so far this year. Wilson’s velocity has gone backwards, and his typically lofty strikeout rate has plummeted to 18.1%. Given their own bullpen struggles, Cincinnati figures to give him an opportunity to right the ship, but it’s likely the Reds agreed to take on Wilson’s salary to incentivize the Yankees to part with Cessa.

New York signed Wilson over the winter to a somewhat complex contract. The southpaw is making $2.85MM this year (about $1MM of which remains). He has a $2.3MM player option for next season. If he declines, Cincinnati would hold a $7.15MM club option ($1.15MM buyout) on his services. Given Wilson’s struggles this year, it seems he’d be trending toward exercising his player option — but doing so would entitle the Reds to a 2023 club option worth just $500K north of that year’s league minimum salary.

Goudeau bounced around waivers throughout last offseason. He now seems likely to wind up back on the wire after making five MLB appearances for the Reds this year. He’s tossed 31 innings across eight appearances (five starts) with Triple-A Louisville, working to a 4.65 ERA with a below-average 16.1% strikeout rate. García has also spent most of the campaign with the Bats. He’s been quite good in Triple-A but hit hard over his five big league outings.

From the Yankees perspective, the deal frees some payroll space and clears a pair of spots on the 40-man roster. In addition to getting themselves off the hook for Wilson’s 2022 player option, New York shaves around $1.4MM off their luxury tax ledger in 2021. With the Yankees just a few million dollars shy of the $210MM threshold, the extra breathing room could enable the front office to pursue upgrades before Friday’s trade deadline. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link) suggests New York could look around the league for bullpen and/or shortstop additions, with a particular focus on left-handed bats.

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