Cincinnati Reds Trade Rumors - Deadline just four days away

The trade deadline is now four days away, and while there are several rumors regarding former members of the Cincinnati Reds perhaps being on the move - or having already moved, in Todd Frazier’s case - the news surrounding the current roster seems to have taken Ambien.

Drew Storen is sporting a 3.12 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 1.22 WHIP on a yearly $3 million salary. Yet while the likes of Pat Neshek, Anthony Swarzak, and David Phelps have already been moved as setup righty relievers, there’s been nary a public sniff of Storen from any potential acquirers.

Scott Feldman, he of Cincinnati’s Opening Day start in 2017, “could throw a bullpen soon” if what Bryan Price mentioned to The Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans on Tuesday holds true, but that’s not going to go too far to remove the final two starts Feldman made from the minds of any team in the market for a mid-rotation starter. He allowed 9 ER in just 6 IP in those starts, including a single inning of incredibly diminished velocity on July 17th prior to landing on the DL with a knee issue. In other words, he’s going nowhere by Monday, with the August waiver-trade period now the only likely chance the Reds will have to swap him and the remainder of his ~$2.5 million salary before he becomes a free agent after the year.

As for Zack Cozart, well, there’s largely similar news to Feldman, unfortunately. Despite the fact that Cozart ranks in the Top 10 in the NL in fWAR and has provided upper-echelon offense to pair with his already plus defense, the market for shortstops has been completely barren. Add in the quad issue he’s fighting and the fact that he’s never once played a big league inning anywhere other than at shortstop, and it’s actually unsurprising that his name hasn’t been kicked around in more circles despite the deadline closing in.

Aside from that, Dick Williams has largely quashed any idea of trading Raisel Iglesias, or any of the other long-term pieces already on the Cincinnati roster, at least at this particular deadline. He’ll listen, which is prudent, but there doesn’t appear to be anything major in the works regarding Adam Duvall, Eugenio Suarez, Iglesias, or any of the other players who have well regarded prospects in their shadows at the moment.

Back before the season started, I emphasized that this particular season was going to have to be chalked up patiently in the rebuild waiting game. The lack of action at this particular deadline is pretty well a direct complement to that concept, since the location on the life cycle of this particular franchise is still firmly in “let the pieces sort themselves out” land. That’s not to say that there still isn’t need for a major shakeup, merely that the next 60 some games are still needed for evaluation purposes before the location of that shakeup gets fully determined. Pair that with short-term pieces that aren’t in a position to create a lot of demand, and you end up watching paint dry with the rest of us Reds fans at the moment.

A lot can still happen in four days. However, a whole lot of not-happening can, too.