CES will reportedly be out for 4-6 weeks, per Charlie Clifford, and as detailed here: https://natisports.net/christian-encarnacion-strand-cincinnati-reds-injury/
New: Per David Bell the Reds discovered a new fracture in Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s right hand. It is tied to the HBP against the Rangers.
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) May 8, 2024
He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. pic.twitter.com/dAzZkMfWLW
Also, even before this revelation, Krall indicated that the Reds were open to a trade – with the right partner, per Gordon Whittenmeyer & Dan Sewell.
One following the other, if the Reds were already open to a trade and then discovered CES had an injury, they must be open to improving the current roster. The most telling thing is that Mike Ford wasn’t good enough for this roster on Monday, but he is on Wednesday. The Reds were blindsided.
Trade Rumors: Potential Targets
Jazz Chisholm Jr. – OF Miami Marlins
I know, I know – unlikely. Or is it? He’s been labelled available (?), per Andy Slater.
Not much analysis to give here. If a top talent like Chisholm Jr is available, why not shoot for it? The Reds need something to get it going. On their current skid, its still not over and an acquisition like this could be a spark. Chisholm Jr is primarily a CF, but he has over 100 games at 2B and SS. Jazz and Elly on the same team? Yes please. And honestly, the Reds may not be able to give up enough here.
What The Marlins Get
INF Sal Stewart
RHP Cole Schoenwetter
OF Jacob Hurtubise
What The Reds Get
OF/IF Jazz Chisholm Jr
Jo Adell – OF Los Angeles Angels
A bit more realistic. Folks in Angels media genuinely saw 2024 as his last chance, and many believed he wouldn’t be on the opening day roster. Add in that Ron Washington has been critical of Adell, and you have to believe the Angels listen to an offer.
On the Reds side, without CES, today had Candelario playing first base which moves Espinal into third base and in the lineup. Ideally, I’d like to see Steer at first, Candelario at third, and Espinal nowhere near the lineup. If Candelario can stay as hot as he was tonight, finding a right-handed OF to allow Steer to move into the infield is a priority. If he can’t, Steer at third and Ford at first is another option.
By adding Adell, the Reds give themselves another option in the OF when Steer is shifted to first. An option with quite a lot of potential and who may benefit from transferring to hitter friendly park. Adell has 7 more expected HRs in GABP than his career mark. He’s also well above average (in the 90th+ percentile) in Barrel %, Hard Hit %, Expected Batting Average, and Expected Slugging. “Why would the Angels let him go then?” you might ask. Well, they’re sellers this year. With Trout out, and where their record sits, they’ll be open to letting some fringe hitters go. Los Angeles has three other outfielders currently available with better career numbers.
The Texas Rangers acquired OF Robbie Grossman from the Chicago White Sox today for RHP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. Adell has quite a bit more value on the market than Grossman given Robbie’s age, but their stats are very similar and Grossman is much better on his career. The Reds will have to give up a higher rated prospect due to Adell’s age and potential. The Angels need a higher end RHP prospect in their organization. They are set at OF and have a few IF that they are very high on.
What The Angels Get
RHP Cole Shoenwetter
INF Carlos Jorge
What The Reds Get
OF Jo Adell
Eloy Jiménez – OF Chicago White Sox
Another player that could benefit from a change of scenery, Jiménez is underperforming compared to his career numbers. Evidently, the White Sox have made him available along with half of their starters and some other position players, per Bob Nightengale.
A career .271 hitter, Jiménez is hitting the ball hard to the wrong places this season. Seems like that tends to happen the worse your team is, and even coming from the Reds perspective in a down period, the White Sox lineup is putrid. Jiménez is ranking near the top of the league in Hard Hit % and Average Exit Velocity. He’d also have 107 HR in GABP vs his career 90. The prospect of getting that power in a Reds uniform is exciting, and he’s available. Again, this would be a move along the lines of moving Steer into first base which I think is the Reds best option.
The White Sox situation is unique. Jiménez is a better player than Jo Adell, but the Reds might be able to get him for less. We call that value. With seemingly half the roster available, the White Sox will be looking for young talent that can play soon. They are stacked with soon to be MLB-ready IFs and have a few options at pitcher. They need an OF or two and the Reds have just that. It might take a fan-favorite here to get some MLB talent – and multiple players. We have to be realistic here – no fooling ourselves that we can get Jiménez on the cheap. Yes, we know Eloy hasn’t been able to stay healthy. It’s part of the reason we went with a “lesser” package, although the Reds will still be giving up a top 100 prospect.
What The White Sox Get
OF Rece Hinds
EDITED 6/11, player is injured
What The Reds Get
OF Eloy Jiménez
Brent Rooker – OF Oakland Athletics
The A’s might be looking to sell high here. Rooker is on a tear in 2024 to the tune of a .277/.370/.628 slash line. He’s good for 2.0 WAR on his career and he provides some pop – 30 HRs last season and 9 so far this year. Rooker would shore up the Reds right-handed batting options and again allow flexibility for Spencer Steer to move into the infield.
With his current performance and his projection at GABP – roughly 40 HRs – the Reds will have to get creative here.
What The Athletics Get
RHP Chase Petty
INF Hector Rodriguez
RHP Carson Spiers
What The Reds Get
OF Brent Rooker
It’s not as much a position of need as it was before. Stephenson has really taken off at the plate, showing that he may be returning to that guy we had a few years ago. Still feel like outfield would be a bigger area of need. Benson has regressed to old form(leads MLB in strikeout rate) , friedl is still on the DL for who knows how long, fraley also can’t stay on the field or hit lefties. And would like to get steer in the in field. Randy arozarena is another name on the trade block, and he’s having a down year for him but has a proven track record. Ray’s are always looking for deals. Another guy from the rays would be Isaac paredes who is having a monster year and it’s reported that the rays weren’t happy he got an arbitration pay raise from 800k to 4 million. They do not spend money like that so he is also available (.303 9 HRs 26 RBIs , .391 ob% , .509 slug% , .900 OPS , good for 1.7 WAR already) only problem he plays 3B and how much would Tampa want for him? I’m fine with reading some prospects because let’s face it we have a big core of young guys and every prospect isn’t going to play for your big league team, they just can’t . Not enough spots.
We have a surplus of young IFers that will need to be dealt. I wish they used Jorge last year in a deal. Could’ve predicted that fall.
I really think Rockies Catcher Elias Diaz should be a target. Get offense from behind the plate would be much needed
Are you going to DFA Maile then?
agreed catcher is a position of weakness
That’s probably what would happen to him. I like Maile as a leader and his ABs have been competitive recently so if he keeps improving getting Diaz would be virtually useless.
rooker would be gold because we do not have pop on this team at all in the outfield thats consistent
Rooker would be perfect for this offense IMO
I like this, keeping Arroyo and Collier but getting really good
if they can land any of these guys without losing their IF depth it’d be yuge