The Cincinnati Reds were eerily quiet at the trade deadline, only making a handful of small moves.
The Cincinnati Reds are in quite the interesting spot as a franchise right now. Their team is young and talented. There’s no doubt about that. They have future stars like Spencer Steer, Matt McLain, Hunter Greene and of course Elly De La Cruz. But injuries and some bad luck has destroyed the 2024 season for the team. Pair that with some questionable decisions from Reds manager David Bell and you have a recipe for disaster.
Some expected the Reds to be semi aggressive at the trade deadline, but they opted to be conservative instead. They dealt Lucas Sims and Frankie Montas away, acquiring a few intriguing pieces, but if they want to add more to their roster, they will need to do it from their own farm system.
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3. Zach Maxwell, RHP, Triple-A
The easiest place for the Reds to look to upgrade is in the bullpen, especially when rosters expand to 40 men later in the year. Having additional bullpen arms is the key down the stretch. The Reds dealt Lucas Sims away because they were comfortable in the relief options they have in the minor leagues.
Looking at strictly relievers, the best option for the Reds is their flamethrowing righty, Zach Maxwell. They have other choices like moving Connor Phillips or Lyon Richardson to the bullpen but Maxwell is a reliever by trade and he makes the most sense.
Velocity is something that Cincinnati lacks in their bullpen and it’s something that Maxwell definitely has. The righty tops out over 100 mph almost every time out. He has a bit of a command problem, walking 20 hitters in 22.1 innings at Triple-A, but when he’s in the zone, he’s dominant.
Getting Maxwell to the big leagues would be a great experience for him and it would provide the Reds with an upgrade over a few of the arms in their bullpen. The flamethrower could use some work with Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson. Calling him up over the next few weeks would be like adding a huge potential arm at the deadline.
2. Rece Hinds, OF, Triple-A
The Cincinnati Reds have already met the best and worst of their high potential slugger, Rece Hinds. They watched as Hinds came up and took over games with his tremendous power for a few weeks. But they also watched as he was carved up and dominated for a chunk of his major league stint.
Either way, he’s an impact bat and with increased contact, he is a gamechanger for the Reds. The righty plays good defense and gives the Reds some solid speed as well. Cincinnati is likely one injury in their outfield away from moving Hinds back up to the big leagues. This one is a bit of a question mark though because Joey Weimer and Stuart Fiarchild provide David Bell with two platoon outfielders already.
Still, Hinds has a big bat and a ton of potential. He’s not a very high floor prospect because he could very easily resort back to the player that strikes out 40 percent of the time and hits below .200. But if the Reds can get him to the point of a league average hitter, Hinds could be a 30-homer candidate for the Reds.
1. Rhett Lowder, RHP, Double-A
Let’s look at this current Reds pitching staff.
Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott, barring injuries, are the three headlining arms in this rotation for the next few seasons. Graham Ashcraft is likely done for the year and Brandon Williamson has looked good when healthy, but Williamson hasn’t been healthy much of this year. Carson Spiers looks like a great option for their fourth or fifth starter. That leaves one spot in the rotation for this year following their decision to trade Frankie Montas to Milwaukee.
Enter last season’s first round pick, Rhett Lowder.
Lowder is currently destroying Double-A hitters after getting off to a rough start at that level. Over his last six starts, Lowder has allowed 25 hits and nine runs in 31.1 innings. This six-start stretch has lowered his Double-A ERA from a 7.15 to down below a 5.00.
His last three starts have been the most dominant. Over his last 17 innings, he’s allowed seven hits and a single run while striking out 14 hitters. He should see an elevation to Triple-A sooner rather than later and if he performs well for a few starts there, the Reds could move him up to the big leagues by September.
Cincinnati needs another starter at the big-league level and Lowder is one of their most polished minor leaguers.
