The Reds need offense -- and they have pitching to offer via trade

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- The Reds have a need for hitting and seemingly an embarrassment of riches when it comes to their starting pitching. Coming off making the playoffs and looking to retool for a bigger and better run next October, it would seem to be a ripe situation for Cincinnati to deal from its surplus depth to fill its holes.

Right?

Maybe not so fast.

“I wouldn’t say no but when you trade pitchers, you’ve got to go fill them somehow," president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "We all know how it works where you run out of innings at some point in the season. Guys get hurt, things happen."

Krall certainly remembers the 2023 season, when the Reds came close but missed making the postseason. Injuries stretched the rotation to its limits as starts went to unproven rookies like Connor Phillips, Lyon Richardson and Levi Stoudt or journeyman Brett Kennedy, among others.

Cincinnati's depth is on better footing heading into 2026.

Among Major League staffs, Reds starters were ranked ninth in ERA (3.85), tied for seventh in strikeouts (832) third in WHIP (1.17) and eighth in innings (865 2/3). The rotation boasts a 2025 All-Star in left-hander Andrew Abbott and 2024 All-Star Hunter Greene. It has another lefty in Nick Lodolo who seems on the cusp realizing his full potential, while Brady Singer was the staff's innings and strikeouts leader. Then there are the young arms like flamethrower Chase Burns and other young pitchers in Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson, Julian Aguiar and Chase Petty.

Missing from the group are Nick Martinez and Zack Littell, who are headed to free agency upon the conclusion of the World Series.

"It’s really hard to say, ‘We’re going to go trade a pitcher.’ And I’m not sure you’re going to go trade a pitcher for offense," Krall said. "You might end up trading the pitcher for a prospect and then have to go sign the offense [on the free agent market]. We’ve got to figure out what makes sense to do a deal.”

The devil is in the details. Burns will be entering only his second professional season, and he missed time in August with a right flexor strain. Lowder (right forearm, left oblique), Aguiar (right elbow) and Williamson (left elbow) each missed all of 2025 with injuries.

“We’re going to have to manage the innings on a handful of those guys as well," general manager Brad Meador said. "You can come up short real fast if you start looking to move pitching.”

One potential move that would free up payroll space and potentially net a return that would fill holes elsewhere is trading Greene. The right-hander has three years and approximately $42 million left on his six-year contract through 2028 – with a club option for '29.

Although he hasn't proven yet that he's capable of pitching a full season without injury, Greene has a dynamic arm and a club-friendly contract that would likely be attractive to suitors with hitting to spare.

“I don’t want to speculate on anybody that’s going to get traded or not get traded at this point," Krall said.

"Because we haven’t had any conversations with other clubs. I don’t know what the needs are out there. I don’t know what people are available as well.”

The Hot Stove season will take shape in less than a couple of weeks. Krall should have a payroll budget by time the General Managers Meetings start in November and certainly before the Winter Meetings in December.

By then, inquiries will have been made and texts and phone calls exchanged with other clubs, and we'll all eventually see how the front office upgrades the offense while still trying to maintain a strong rotation.