Cincinnati Reds links - Prospect rankings, trade targets, & more!

Bit of a slow weekend for news around the Cincinnati Reds. Surely the fact that the GM Meetings that were on-tap for this past week had to be canned early due to a virus running through (literally) the attendees had nothing to do with that!

The non-tender deadline is Friday, November 17th, and my best guess is that we’ll begin to get a little bit more action here, there, and everywhere in the run-up. The good folks at MLB Trade Rumors provided a list of players who were firmly on the bubble for being tendered at the end of October, and it’s a list that could well have some hidden gems. Nick Senzel features prominently from the Reds perspective, his estimated ~$3 million salary a drop in the bucket to most clubs but deemed perhaps too pricey for what he provides to the Reds. Derek Law is included ($1.4 million), too.

The Athletic’s Leatherpants has a list of 10 ‘big-name’ players who could be traded this offseason, with emphasis firmly on the could portion of the headline. Jonathan India is included here, and to segue with the idea of Senzel perhaps being non-tendered this week I’m going to go on record with a thought progression that seems as obvious to me as perhaps anything I’ve suggested here in years.

• Nick Senzel’s only role is to hit LHP and provide versatility for David Bell’s in-game switches
• The Reds need a RH bat to complement their lefty-heavy OF, and acquiring such a player from outside the organization is going to take either a prospect cache or $$$
• The Reds have an infield logjam, and since India is the only one of the mix who is finally slated to get ‘expensive’ through arbitration, he’s the one in all the trade rumors
• The Reds had zero problem moving Spencer Steer and Nick Senzel all over the diamond in recent years
• Why not just start getting Jonathan India some practice in the corner OF?

I digress. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon has more on the India situation, including quotes from both Reds Head-Honcho Nick Krall and India’s agent, Scott Boras.

Over at Reds Minor Leagues dot com, Doug Gray wrapped up his annual ranking of the Top 25 prospects in the Cincinnati system, with Noelvi Marte sitting atop the list. Here’s the link to the Top 5, a link which in itself includes links to the rest of the Top 25 overall, I think. Thanks, Doug!

Finally, some vintage Joey Votto humor, since I will continue to talk about Joey Votto regardless of where he plays in 2024.