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Reds Have Expressed Interest In Eugenio Suarez

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The Mariners are not the only of Eugenio Suárez’s former teams who are eyeing the slugging third baseman. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that the Reds have been in contact with the Diamondbacks to express interest. However, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com characterizes a deal coming together between those teams as a “long shot.” Along with Seattle, the Cubs and Yankees have been linked to Suárez in recent days.

Suárez is the top impending free agent hitter available. The D-Backs have straddled the buy/sell line for weeks but probably sealed their fate as deadline sellers by getting swept by the Astros. That negates their sweep of the Cardinals coming out of the All-Star Break and drops them back to three games below .500. They’re 5.5 back of the final playoff spot with four teams to surpass. Feinsand, Jon Heyman of The New York Post, and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM have all suggested this evening that they’re likely to sell at this point. They face the Pirates and Tigers for three games apiece up to the deadline.

Both series are on the road, meaning Suárez probably played his final home game as a Diamondback this afternoon. The 34-year-old is playing on a $15MM salary. That was a club option on the seven-year contract extension that Suárez initially signed with Cincinnati in March 2018. He played seven seasons with the Reds overall, earning down-ballot MVP support in his best years.

Suárez looked to be on the downswing when the Reds packaged him alongside Jesse Winker to the Mariners coming out of the 2022 lockout. Seattle traded him to Arizona two years later. Suárez started his first season with the Diamondbacks so slowly that he was on the verge of getting benched in June. He transformed into one of the hottest hitters in baseball around last year’s All-Star Break and hasn’t let up. He leads the National League with 36 homers this season. Over the past calendar year, only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge have hit more home runs. Judge, Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are the three qualified hitters with a higher OPS than Suárez’s .938 in that span.

Arizona could — and almost certainly would — make a qualifying offer if they held him through season’s end. Their dwindling playoff chances make a trade more likely. They’d get a stronger return than one compensatory draft pick. Arizona could also prioritize upper minors talent that could make an impact next season rather than wait for a draftee who wouldn’t arrive until 2027-28 at the earliest. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reported last week that the Snakes intend to prioritize controllable pitching in trade returns. Corbin Burnes will miss most or all of next season, while Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are impending free agents.

Rosecrans reports that the D-Backs have some interest in Cincinnati pitching prospect Chase Petty, who could be one possible piece in a larger trade package. A former Minnesota first-round pick who was traded to the Reds for Sonny Gray, Petty made his MLB debut this season. He has been bombed for 14 runs (13 earned) in six innings over his first three starts. Petty has a 4.14 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate while walking nearly 11% of opponents across 15 Triple-A outings.

While this hasn’t been a good year, Petty is a 22-year-old who sits in the 95-96 MPH range with his fastball and ranks as Cincinnati’s #5 prospect at Baseball America. The Reds aren’t going to trade last year’s #2 overall pick Chase Burns for a rental. That should also be true of 2023 seventh overall selection Rhett Lowder, who has battled forearm and oblique injuries this year. Petty is probably the organization’s next-best pitching prospect.

Cincinnati is 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race with two teams to jump. The Cardinals are one game behind them. Cincinnati needs offense generally and would particularly benefit from a righty bat who can improve upon their dismal .219/.298/.348 team line against lefty pitching. An outfielder makes the most sense, though they could add at third base and use Noelvi Marte more frequently in right field after testing that out over the weekend.

Reds Start Noelvi Marte In Right Field

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The Reds unveiled a new wrinkle in their lineup for today’s game against the Mets, as Noelvi Marte is batting seventh as the starting right fielder.  This marks the first time in Marte’s pro career that he has played in the outfield, as he has primarily played third base in the majors and second base in the minors, with some additional action at second base.

Reporter Charlie Goldsmith shared some background on the rather sudden position change, as the Reds started working Marte out in the outfield just yesterday.  The idea is that playing the outfield will both add some versatility to the 23-year-old’s skillset and give Cincinnati more flexibility in setting lineups.

“Especially against a lefty, it gives us a chance to put [Santiago] Espinal at third and get all of our righties out there [in the lineup],” outfield coach Collin Cowgill said.  “You’ve seen [Marte] play, he’s a good enough athlete to get it figured out.  He has a cannon.  He has all of the physical attributes.  Now, it’s about practicing.”

Cowgill further noted that Marte’s arm strength in particular makes him an asset in right field, and creates more margin for error in throwing accuracy than Marte found at third base.  Ten of Marte’s 22 career Major League errors have come on throws, all from the hot corner.  By comparison, Espinal has made 13 errors total in 1749 2/3 career innings as a third baseman, while Marte has logged only 929 2/3 frames at third.

Espinal has himself seen some time in both corner outfield spots this season as the Reds continue to look for some steady right-handed balance within an outfield mix that tilts heavily to the left side.  TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Gavin Lux, and Will Benson are all left-handed hitters, and the team’s plan to have the right-handed hitting Austin Hays as a regular corner outfielder has been limited by Hays’ injuries, as Hays is now getting a lot of DH action.  Connor Joe is another righty-swinging outfield option, but putting Marte into the outfield picture opens up more avenues for manager Terry Francona.

It could also help Marte cement his place in the Reds’ lineup after a number of ups and downs at the start of his big league career.  Formerly a star prospect, Marte performed well in 35 games during his 2023 rookie season, but his 2024 campaign was marred by an 80-game PED suspension and then poor results in the majors once he was activated.  The Reds began Marte at Triple-A to begin the 2025 season, and after he was called up, faced another lengthy absence when an oblique strain led to a two-month IL stint.

When he has been able to play, however, Marte looks to have found his hitting form, batting .272/.327/.515 over 103 plate appearances this season.  Obviously the Reds want to get that bat into the lineup, and getting Marte regular playing time in the outfield allows both Espinal more time at third base, but it also gets Lux back into more regular duty at the hot corner.  As Goldsmith observes, Lux has been struggling defensively in left field, and would likely benefit from a return to his natural infield position.

Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain have the middle infield spots spoken for in Cincinnati, leaving Marte with third base as his most logical pathway to big league playing time.  With top prospect Sal Stewart now looming as a third baseman of the future (and even perhaps as early as a 2025 MLB debut), the outfield could become Marte’s more regular position going forward.  Cowgill even suggested that Marte has the athleticism to handle center field, which would give the Reds extra depth at the position behind Friedl.

The Reds are solidly in the wild card race with a 52-47 record, and are known to be looking for hitting help at the deadline.  The exact nature of their position-player targets is yet to be determined, as if Marte can hold his own in right field, Cincinnati might not need to look specifically at the outfield market.

Cardinals Sign Aaron Wilkerson To Minor League Contract

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The Cardinals announced that Aaron Wilkerson has signed a minor league deal, and the right-hander has been assigned to Triple-A Memphis.  Wilkerson had been pitching in the Reds organization on another minors contract until earlier this week, as KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reported that Wilkerson triggered an opt-out clause in that deal.

It has been almost six years since Wilkerson’s last big league appearance, as the righty posted a 6.88 ERA across 35 1/3 innings with the Brewers from 2017-19.  Now 36 years old, Wilkerson’s career has seen consisted of a pair of trips abroad (pitching with NPB’s Hanshin Tigers in 2022 and with the KBO League’s Lotte Giants in 2023-24) and a few other stints in the minors with MLB organizations.  Wilkerson has pitched with the Dodgers, Athletics, and Reds without any further calls to the Show.

This year, Wilkerson has a 4.17 ERA over 18 starts and 95 innings for Triple-A Louisville, with a modest 20.7% strikeout rate but an outstanding 4.5% walk rate.  A .249 BABIP has undoubtedly contributed to Wilkerson’s success, and his 15% homer rate continues his trend of having some trouble keeping the ball in the park in both the upper minors and during his brief time as a Major Leaguer.

Wilkerson’s work in Louisville wasn’t enough to get him a look in Cincinnati, as the Reds have turned to a couple of top prospects (Chase Petty, Chase Burns) and more established starting options when having to fill holes in the rotation this year.  The Cardinals’ rotational depth chart is also pretty crowded, yet the Wilkerson signing is intriguing within the context of the July 31 trade deadline. Since St. Louis could be looking to move Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, or long reliever Steven Matz, it behooves the Cards to have an experienced starting depth at Triple-A should a vacancy suddenly appear on the team’s pitching staff.

Reds Sign First-Round Pick Steele Hall

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The Reds announced that they’ve signed first-round pick Steele Hall. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports that the 17-year-old infielder receives a $5.75MM bonus. That’s below the approximate $6.51MM slot value for the ninth pick.

Baseball America and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each had Hall as a mid-first round talent on their pre-draft rankings. Keith Law of The Athletic was quite a bit lower, placing him 36th. The 5’11 Hall” is a right-handed hitter with elite speed. He’s expected to stick at shortstop and is viewed as a hit-over-power player. Both BA and McDaniel write that Hall has an aggressive offensive approach, while Law expressed concern about his ability to handle breaking stuff.

While Hall may be a somewhat divisive prospect, his youth and athleticism made it clear that he’d be picked high enough to sign away from a commitment to Tennessee. His signing bonus is close to the slot value of the 12th pick, so the deal provides the Reds a bit of cost savings for the later rounds. Cincinnati took two other high school players within the top 10 rounds: second-rounder Aaron Watson and fifth-round pick Eli Pitts. It’s likely that one or both players will get an overslot bonus with some of the money saved by cutting a deal with Hall.

Trade Deadline Outlook: Cincinnati Reds

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The Reds are three games over .500 but 7.5 games out of first place in the NL Central. Their best path to the postseason is a Wild Card berth. They're 2.5 games back at the moment as they look for their first playoff bid since 2020 (just their second since 2013) and their first playoff win since back in 2012.

Record: 50-47 (Playoff odds 11.1%, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners

Buy Mode

Potential needs: Corner outfield, first base, second base, reliever

The Reds' primary need, regardless of position, is simply another bat -- or multiple bats -- to bolster what has been a stagnant offense. Ideally, that'd come in the outfield corners. Austin Hays has been great when healthy but has only made it into 44 games due to a trio of IL stints. He and utilityman Gavin Lux lead the team in plate appearances as a left fielder. Jake Fraley, who just returned from a shoulder injury, leads the pack in terms of plate appearances as a right fielder. The Reds have used eight different players in right field and ten in left. No one has more plate appearances at either position than Fraley's 140 in right field.

Fraley and Lux are both hovering around league-average offensive output that's driven largely by plate discipline. Neither is slugging even .400. Fraley has a .152 ISO (slugging minus batting average) that's right in line with the .154 league average. Lux is down at .114. Neither is going to provide much power, and neither can hit left-handed pitching.

A righty-swinging corner outfield bat would fit the Reds nicely -- all the better if it's someone controlled beyond the current season. The Reds are fringe contenders in 2025 but have the rotation talent to make a stronger run in 2026 with better health.

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Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax

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Virtually every contender is looking for relief help come the deadline each season, and the 2025 campaign figures to be no exception to that. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, two members of the Twins’ bullpen are getting plenty of attention from rival clubs this trade season: closer Jhoan Duran and setup man Griffin Jax. Nightengale highlights the Phillies as one potential suitor, a suggestion that lines up with reporting last week regarding Philadelphia’s interest in the pair, and goes on to list the Tigers, Cubs, Dodgers, and Reds as other clubs that are intrigued by Minnesota’s impact arms.

It’s not hard to see why teams would have interest in the duo. Duran is the bigger name of the two. The 27-year-old has averaged more than 100 mph on his fastball every season of his career and pairs his impressive 31.0% career strikeout rate with a career ground ball rate of 63.9%. That ability to both miss bats and keep the ball on the ground is hard to match, and Duran’s 2.38 ERA since making his big league debut back in 2022 speaks for itself. Jax, meanwhile, pitched poorly as a starter in his rookie season but has posted a 3.22 ERA with a 2.63 FIP, a 30.3% strikeout rate, and a 50.3% ground ball rate since moving to the bullpen in 2022.

A .391 BABIP has held Jax’s results back this year, but he’s striking out an absurd 38.0% of batters faced while walking 5.8%. Duran, meanwhile, has by far the lowest K-BB% of his career in 2025 but is making up for it with an eye-popping 69.2% ground ball rate. Duran is in the midst of the stronger season and has substantial closing experience that Jax lacks, but either one should bring Minnesota back a haul if traded this summer between their dominance and the fact that they can both be controlled via arbitration through the end of the 2027 season.

Of course, all of this hinges on the Twins actually being interested in selling. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey suggested just a few short weeks ago that the club was not “focusing on” the possibility of selling this summer. Minnesota has gone 11-8 since Falvey made those comments, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them decide to hold onto controllable pieces like Duran and Jax. On the other hand, trading one of the club’s two dominant relievers could make it easier for the club to address other holes in the roster while still retaining the other to serve as one of the sport’s best closers going forward.

Looking at the potential suitors, the Phillies and Reds make a ton of sense as teams that could desperately use reinforcements in the bullpen. Philadelphia’s gamble on Jordan Romano this past winter hasn’t worked out, and a PED suspension for Jose Alvarado means that he’ll not only miss half the year but be ineligible to pitch in the postseason for the Phillies this year. That leaves the club in desperate need of the sort of lockdown relief arm they lost when they allowed both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez to walk in free agency last year. As for the Reds, Cincinnati’s closer Alexis Diaz was torched to a 12.00 ERA in six outings before being optioned to Triple-A and eventually traded to Los Angeles, where he’s continued to struggle.

The Cubs and Tigers have less glaring needs at the back of their bullpen, but both figure to be very aggressive this summer as they currently sit positioned for a bye through the first round of the playoffs. Adding a dominant closer at the deadline can be a way to push a good team over the edge and make them favorites in the postseason, and while incumbent closers Daniel Palencia and Will Vest are impressive relievers it’s not hard to see why Chicago or Detroit would want a more proven option in the ninth for a playoff run. As for the Dodgers, the club’s splashy additions of Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to the back of their bullpen have looked a bit shakier than anticipated, and given how aggressively L.A. prioritized adding relief help in the winter it’s understandable they would continue to do so this summer with both of their star additions sporting ERAs approaching 4.00.

Reds Activate Jake Fraley, Option Christian Encarnacion-Strand

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The Reds announced that outfielder Jake Fraley has been activated from the 10-day injured list.  In a notable corresponding move, infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand has been optioned to Triple-A.

Fraley last played in a big league game on June 23, when he suffered a partial tear in his right labrum.  This is the latest in a series of shoulder issues that have bothered Fraley for a few years, and he received a cortisone shot in an attempt to play through the pain and hold off a potential surgery until after the season.

Time will tell if this gutsy approach will be successful, though Fraley’s numbers have declined over the last two seasons (he has hit .263/.330/.383 over 527 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024) as he has been dealing with multiple other injuries.  A calf strain sent Fraley to the IL for another stint earlier this season, and he missed time with a knee sprain in 2024.

The left-handed hitting Fraley figures to supplant Will Benson in the outfield mix, and between Fraley, Benson, TJ Friedl, and Gavin Lux, Cincinnati is a little overloaded with lefty-swinging outfield options.  Austin Hays is a right-handed bat that has been getting time in both left field and at DH, in a nod to Hays’ multiple IL stints this year.  As the Reds remain in the NL wild card hunt, a righty bat seems like an obvious need if the club is still in position to buy when the July 31 trade deadline roll around.

Encarnacion-Strand hit .270/.328/.477 with 13 home runs over 241 plate appearances in his rookie season, as he was one of many young position players that burst onto the scene for the 2023 Reds.  After tearing up minor league pitching en route to this impressive debut showing in the majors, it looked like CES was going to make himself a fixture in the Cincinnati lineup.

Unfortunately, Encarnacion-Strand has since sputtered to hit only .199/.227/.337 over 260 PA, as he missed most of the 2024 season recovering from surgery to fix a wrist fracture.  Back problems returned him to the IL in April and he didn’t return to the big leagues until early June, with Reds manager Terry Francona intimating that the club was viewing CES’ rehab assignment as a way for the 25-year-old to get on track the plate.

However, the results haven’t been much better since Encarnacion-Strand was activated, so he’ll now head back to Triple-A Louisville.  A 1.048 OPS over 359 career Triple-A PA indicates that Encarnacion-Strand doesn’t have much more to prove in the minors, yet the Reds can’t afford to give CES more time to find himself in the big leagues when the club is trying to fight its way deeper into the playoff picture.

Tyler Callihan Likely Done For The Year

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Infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan is likely done for the year. According to the Reds’ injury tracker at MLB.com, he recently had a follow-up surgery on his left wrist and is not expected to return this season.

Callihan, 25, suffered a gruesome injury in just his fourth big league game. Playing left field on May 5th, he chased a Matt Olson fly ball towards the foul line, slid and crashed into the wall. He appeared to catch the ball but then immediately dropped it, with his left/glove arm in obvious pain. Olson rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run as Callihan was on the ground in discomfort.

The next day, Callihan was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm fracture. The Reds announced that he had already undergone surgery, which would necessitate a shutdown period of six to eight weeks. He was transferred to the 60-day IL a few days later when the Reds acquired Connor Joe from the Padres.

After that shutdown period, it seems that Callihan was reevaluated and it was determined that another surgery was required. It’s unclear if he will be able to have a healthy offseason or be ready for next season. He will stay on the 60-day IL for the rest of the year. As a small consolation for this frustrating experience, he has been collecting big league pay and service time while on the IL and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Dan Straily Announces Retirement

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Eight-year MLB veteran Dan Straily has announced his retirement, as relayed by Codify Baseball on social media. Straily pitched for the A’s, Cubs, Astros, Reds, Marlins, and Orioles in his MLB career.

Straily, 36, was a 24th-round pick by the A’s back in 2009. He made his big league debut a few years later during the 2012 season and provided league average results for Oakland down the stretch, with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts despite allowing 11 homers in those seven outings. He returned to the Athletics rotation for the 2013 season and was now able to post league average results with matching peripherals as he pitched to a 3.96 ERA (98 ERA+) with a 4.05 FIP across 152 2/3 innings and 27 starts. That performance was impressive enough to earn Straily a fourth-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting that year behind Wil Myers, Jose Iglesias, and Chris Archer.

In 2014, Straily struggled a bit in seven early-season starts with the A’s and was optioned to Triple-A. That changed when Straily was traded to the Cubs alongside top prospects Addison Russell and Billy McKinney for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Straily made a few appearances with Chicago, but they weren’t productive outings. The Cubs saw fit to move on from Straily following the 2014 campaign, and during the offseason he was flipped to the Astros alongside Luis Valbuena in the deal that sent Dexter Fowler to Chicago. Straily once again spent much of the 2015 season in the minors, making just four appearances in the majors for Houston while pitching to a 5.40 ERA in those outings.

Straily was traded for a third time in early 2016, when he was dealt by the Astros to the Padres for Erik Kratz. San Diego promptly designated Straily for assignment, but was plucked off waivers by the Reds and managed to stick in the big leagues with Cincinnati. The righty had arguably the best season of his career with the Reds as he pitched to a 3.76 ERA in a career-high 191 1/3 innings of work. While Straily’s home run rate held back his peripherals (4.88 FIP), he was the exact sort of reliable, innings-eating arm a rebuilding club like the Reds needed.

The fourth trade of Straily’s career came after his strong 2016 season, when the Marlins sought to acquire some rotation depth and surrendered a package of talent headlined by eventual Reds ace Luis Castillo to acquire him. Straily pitched two seasons at the back of Miami’s rotation, with a 4.20 ERA and 4.79 FIP across 304 innings of work. He was released by Miami shortly before Opening Day 2019 and latched on with the Orioles, for whom he struggled to provide results across 47 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment in June of that year.

Straily’s stint with the Orioles was the end of his time in the majors, but it was by no means the end of his professional career as a player. The righty went overseas to the KBO League and went on to make 89 starts for the Lotte Giants with a 3.29 ERA in 503 innings of work from 2020 to 2023. He made brief stateside returns in 2022 and ’24 with the Diamondbacks and Cubs, but was unable to crack the big league roster with either club. Straily wrapped up his pro career with 32 innings of work for the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the independent Mexican League this year, and exits baseball with a lifetime 4.19 ERA across 2351 1/3 innings of work between the major, minor, and foreign leagues he participated in. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Straily on a fine career and wish him all the best in his post-playing pursuits.

MLBTR Podcast: Depleted Mets’ Pitching, The Pirates Are Open For Business, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Griffin Canning’s injury dealing another blow to the Mets’ rotation (1:45)
  • Which playoff-caliber starters could be available at the deadline? (6:10)
  • What does Canning’s free agency look like with this injury? (12:55)
  • The Pirates reportedly having almost no one off the table at the deadline (15:10)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Could the Orioles be sellers at the deadline and then make a late-season run for a Wild Card berth? (28:35)
  • Should the Royals make Vinnie Pasquantino available at the deadline? (31:20)
  • Should the Cubs get Eugenio Suárez from the Diamondbacks? (35:30)
  • Should the Mariners get Josh Naylor of the Diamondbacks or Alex Bregman of the Red Sox? (40:10)
  • If the Reds are sellers, should they make TJ Friedl available? (44:20)
  • The constant tough question of when a small-market team should sell a star player (47:05)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

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