With just three games left before the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline, the latest Cincinnati Redstrade-chip watch also comes with an eye on 2027.
That’s because team president Nick Krall made it clear during the recent road trip that the Reds with newly-extended ace Chase Burns have designs on retooling for next seasonrather than rebuild again for some undetermined future window.
“You’ve got to make the best deal you can,” Krall said. “With that said, your goal is to come back next year and be in a good spot to make a playoff run.”
That’s where Burns and rookie Rhett Lowder come in – even where All-Star Hunter Greene might go out.
Lowder, the No. 7 overall
pick out of Wake Forest in 2023 the year before Burns was the Reds’ No. 2 overall pick out of the same school, pitched six innings for the first time since April and allowed just two runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the July 30 opener of a four-game series won 3-2 by the Reds in the ninth.
They’ll be back as part of a 2027 foundation that also includes two-time All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz, who walked and doubled three times – the third time leading off the ninth and leading to the winning run when Nathaniel Lowe delivered the walk-off fielder's choice up the middle with one out and the bases loaded, beating out the relay throw to first.
Also back in that foundation is 2026 All-Star rookie Sal Stewart, who drove in De La Cruz with a single for his 80th RBI at the exact two-thirds mark of the season.
Will Hunter Greene be traded?
What about Hunter Greene? The Reds’ two-time Opening Day starter makes what might be his last start as a Red on the final day of the month, opposite reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, with the Dodgers and other starter-needy contenders tuning in.
With two guaranteed years ($31 million total) and a club option for a third (at $21 million), Greene represents the best of both worlds for a big-market club before the deadline: a frontline start to rival anyone in the trade market this side of Tarik Skubal and a pitcher with cost-certain club control who’s better, when healthy, than any other available club-controlled starters.
The Reds admittedly are listening to offers, and one report suggests rival executives believe there’s a 50% chance Greene gets traded.
“We’ve got to look at everybody that’s on the roster," Krall said when asked about Greene during that recent interview, "and if there’s something that does make sense for the organization, we have to have a conversation about it, and we might go down that road. If it’s not going to make sense for the organization at this point, then we (won’t).”
Potential Reds players who could be traded
The rest of the trade-chip report from July 30 (in order of projected trade value):
- Catcher Tyler Stephenson: The pending free agent walked three times and singled after entering the game as one of only four catchers in the game with eight multi-hit games since June 26.
- Reliever Brock Burke: The veteran lefty replaced Lowder to pitch the seventh in a 2-2 game and loaded the bases with a pair of back-to-back, one-out walks and a two-out HBP before striking out Brandon Lowe to end the threat. His season ERA is down to 2.56 in a league-high 55 games — with a walk rate north of five per nine innings.
- 1B/DH Nathaniel Lowe: The lefty hitter, who’s raked the last two weeks and raked specifically against right-handers all year, also doubled in the second and walked in the seventh.
- 3B/DH Eugenio Suárez: The veteran with 49 home runs a year ago was hitless with a walk and grounded sharply into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the seventh. The roughly $5 million left on his contract could be steep for a lot of teams considering a 35-year-old slugger with just 14 homers this year, albeit six in his last 17 games.
The deadline is 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Is Hunter Greene making his last Reds start? Latest MLB trade update
