BAR: Who will Reds trade next?
The Blog Above Replacement is Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans' daily look at the Reds, their minor leagues and whatever else is on his mind.
OK, with Johnny Cueto out the door, who is next?
Here's my list of Reds who may be traded, in order of what I think is most likely:
1. Mike Leake. Leake's a free agent, and while the Reds wouldn't mind bringing him back, there's nothing binding him. I could easily see the Reds trading him and making a run at him in the offseason (although, I'd expect him to sign elsewhere for more than the Reds are willing to pay). If I had to guess, I could see him ending up in Toronto, as the Blue Jays proved by the trade for Troy Tulowitzki that they aren't going to sit around.
2. Marlon Byrd. He'd be a good choice for a team looking for some power for the second half, and I can even see the Pirates picking him up. He won fans in Pittsburgh two years ago for good reason. Byrd could still go after the non-waiver trade deadline, as well.
3. Aroldis Chapman. There's been buzz around the Giants, Yankees, Nationals, Blue Jays and Dodgers with Chapman, but it'll still take quite the package to land him. I've noted many times that I think the Reds should trade him, but I'm not convinced they will. If he doesn't go, his name will be mentioned quite a bit this offseason.
4. Jay Bruce. I'm still not sure the Reds pull the trigger on a deal that moves Bruce, but if they're bowled over, they might. The Mets and Angels seem to make the most sense, even after the Angels added Shane Victorino. Victorino gave up switch-hitting earlier this year and is just batting right-handed. The Angels could still look for a left-handed bat.
5. Brayan Pena. He'd be a good add for a team that needs a backup catcher and is a free agent after the end of the season. Like Byrd, he could go after the non-waiver trade deadline.
6. Manny Parra. He won't be traded until after the non-waiver trade deadline, but could go late in the season. He's also a free agent after the season.
• Apparently the Reds don't have the market cornered on bizarre ways of telling players they may have been traded — check out the story from Yahoo's Jeff Passan about how the Rockies told Tulowitzki that he was being traded.
MINOR-LEAGUE ROUNDUP
• Triple-A: Charlotte 7, Louisville 1: Tony Cingrani continued to struggle, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in just three innings. He needed 67 pitches to get through those three innings. [Box]
• High-A: St. Lucie 2, Daytona 1: St. Lucie scored in the ninth off of reliever Carlos Gonzalez, who gave up four hits in two innings. 2B Alex Blandino was 3-for-4 with two doubles. [Box]
THE ROTATION
1. The Twins have followed the Pirates' lead and have invested in analytics — and they are seeing similar results. [Pioneer Press]
2. Are Cardinals fans spoiled? [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
3. NFL mascots ranked by creepiness. [UpRoxx]
4. Great sketch by Key & Peele if we had our priorities straight — TeachingCenter:
5. A bit of my faith in humanity has been restored by the simple fact that Jason Isbell has the No. 1 album on the country and rock charts, according to Billboard. I mean, yes, that's still people who buy music, but so glad this country is supporting something actually worth it for once.
You can stream his set from the Newport Folk Festival at NPR.org.