3 early-season trades Reds must make

With the surprise news that the Miami Marlins were trading Luis Arraez in the first week of May, the Fish sent a clear signal to the rest of the league that they were fully open for business. Instantly, everyone pointed out one of the most desirable names on the roster, center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. as another candidate to be shipped off to greener pastures. And although it may not look like it at first glance, the Reds are a perfect destination.

First, let’s look at center field production. By fWAR, the Marlins have had the third-most valuable center fielders this season (primarily Chisholm), while the Reds are 27th at a brutal -0.3. Chisholm has adjusted astonishingly well to his new position since moving there at the start of 2023 and would be a substantial defensive upgrade over anyone on the current roster. But one can almost hear fans saying “Hey, TJ Friedl is almost back from injury!” Yes, but there’s a second reason this makes sense.

Remember when Chisholm wasn’t flashing the leather in center field, but at second base? He could absolutely still do both, especially in today’s era of position players moving back and forth between positions at a head-turning rate. There’s a strong chance McLain won’t play at all this season and the Reds are also even worse in fWAR at second base, second-worst in the league at -0.6. When McLain gets healthy again at some point, Chisholm can play most of his games in center and the Reds can shift Friedl to a corner. And as for the current second baseman, we’ve got a plan for him too.

Trade 2B Jonathan India

Things just aren’t working out in Cincy for the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year. In 251 games since that excellent rookie season, Jonathan India has just a .717 OPS and 95 OPS+. And there is a way to be a valuable second baseman with a slightly below league average bat, but India is lacking even more when it comes to his glove. With -1.7 defensive WAR and -25 outs above average in his career, he’s one of the worst defensive second basemen around.

In addition to fighting through injuries, the situation for India with the Reds has simply been too awkward to navigate. He’s been forced to take a backseat in the organization due to the McLains and Elly De La Cruz’s of the world flying up through the minors, but also been called upon for veteran leadership in the absence of any real seasoned veterans on the roster. The struggles are as much mental as they are physical at this point, and what India really needs is a change of scenery.

A team like the Kansas City Royals could be an incredible fit for India. They’re getting very little production from their second basemen too, especially offensively, and they’re a young team that has their veteran leadership already sorted out with captain Salvador Perez anchoring the lineup. Plus, as more of a gap-to-gap hitter when he’s at his best, it could be better for India to get away from the homer-happy environment of Great American Ball Park and focus on driving liners into the spacious power alleys of Kauffman Stadium. Please make this happen, midwestern front offices.

Acquire Rockies SP Ryan Feltner

To find a good starting pitching candidate for the Reds, the simplest methodology is to find someone with a high ground ball rate, because giving up fly balls in the launch pad the Reds play their home games in is a bad formula. And ironically enough, the results turned up a starting pitcher on another team with a terrible home ballpark for pitching: the Colorado Rockies’ Ryan Feltner.

Feltner would be a fantastic buy-low candidate because even though he still has four years of team control after 2024, he has an ERA over five, so the Rockies aren’t going to cling to him if they get a decent offer. And it’s clear Feltner has good stuff, he just needs the right pitching development plan to harness it.

Here’s a great example: Feltner’s sinker is generating a .143 opponent batting average and -16 degree average launch angle (a.k.a. straight into the ground), but the geniuses in the offices at Coors Field haven’t thought to have him throw the pitch more than 9.2% of the time this season. His four-seamer, slider and changeup are all getting hit much harder, plus there’s some bad batted ball luck mixed in. Bring him to Cincinnati, fix that terribly balanced pitch mix and you have a very serviceable fourth or fifth starter for under $1 million in salary.