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It appears that longtime C Ryan Hanigan has been traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Tampa Bay Rays just minutes after I spent far too much time writing about how he hasn't been traded yet. That karma, it's a heckuva thing, y'know?
Bowtie McFunnypants was the first to break the news, and it appears there may be a larger framework taking shape.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Reds&src=hash">#Reds</a> trading catcher Ryan Hanigan to <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Rays&src=hash">#Rays</a>, sources tell me and <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi">@jonmorosi</a>. May be three-team deal.</p>— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/statuses/407925861221163008">December 3, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Hanigan, of course, was coming off a rough, injury riddled season that saw him post career lows in most categories, and given that 2014 was his last season under team control, this move had long been presumed as inevitable; November's signing of FA C Brayan Pena only served to expedite things.
The other players, and potentially other team, has yet to be named. Stay tuned for updates.
UPDATE [3:15 PM]
It appears that David Holmberg, a LHP from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, will be the sole piece coming to the Reds. In a three team deal, the Rays get Ryan Hanigan from the Reds and Heath Bell and some money from the Diamondbacks, while Arizona gets a minor-league pitcher from the Rays.
Holmberg, a former 2nd round draft pick from the Chicago White Sox, ended up in Arizona as part of the Edwin Jackson trade a few seasons ago. He's pitched effectively at Arizona's AA affiliate in the Southern League, and was rated as a Top 10 prospect in the Diamondbacks' farm system.
