Cincinnati Reds leave MLB winter meetings without making deal but expect moves to come
NASHVILLE – During baseball’s annual Rule 5 draft Wednesday at the Opryland Resort in Nashville, a Cincinnati Reds’ team official stood up and walked the 30 feet to a microphone, as the attention of the hushed crowd in the ballroom turned toward the mic:
“The Cincinnati Reds pass.”
And just like that, a week of winter meetings for the Reds — if not most of baseball — was summed up in four words.
Most teams passed on claiming players during the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft, which was not unusual.
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But the dearth of baseball trades and free agent signings during baseball’s annual industry convention told the story of offseason activity largely held up by the top of the market (read: Shohei Ohtani), including more tire-kicking than rubber-meets-the-road for the Reds.
“This year it’s probably a little slower than I would have anticipated,” team president Nick Krall said as the Reds’ contingent wrapped up most of their work at the meetings Wednesday.
Krall suggested optimism that the club will eventually get their remaining priorities accomplished — with a starting pitcher and established bat high on the list — but with little sense of when.
“Each entity takes its own time,” he said. “It depends on where they are, whether it’s a trade or free agent. We’re working through it.”
To that end, the Reds met with agents all week and stayed in touch with teams on potential trades — the club linked to free agent hitters such as switch-hitting corner infielder Jeimer Candelario and Gold Glove center fielder Michael A. Taylor, along with starters Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays and Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians in the trade market.
Another trade target, high-demand right-hander Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox, could take longer to get done, if the Reds are able to do anything at all on that front, among a sizable group of interested teams.
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Sources confirmed a report out of Chicago that the Sox were asking for pitching prospects Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty plus other prospects in a package. One source said Edwin Arroyo, the top shortstop in the Reds farm system, and top pitching prospect Connor Phillips also were among those the Sox sought in talks.
The New York Post reported late Wednesday that the White Sox were “pulling back” on Cease talks and might wait until after seeing who misses out on top free agents such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto before exploring Cease’s market again.
Cease’s agent, Scott Boras, sounded Wednesday like he expected his client to eventually be traded this winter.
“Whenever you have power arms — and there are a few of them — top-5 Cy (Young) guys, historically they’re just so hard to find,” said Boras of the 2022 Cy Young runner-up, who has made more starts (109) than anyone else in baseball the past four seasons.
Krall, who wouldn’t comment on specific players or details on players, said the signings last week of reliever Emilio Pagán and swingman Nick Martinez lessens some of the urgency.
“Being able to add two players already allows us to be more patient and selective (at this point in the winter),” he said. “We had a lot of conversations. I feel we had a productive several days. We just didn’t get anything finalized.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds come up empty at winter meetings, expect deals to come
