![\"Baltimore](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_56,w_3440,h_1935\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/64\/01k0s1gjb27pab27xs1w.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNabbing this rental would signal that the Reds are all in.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Cincinnati Reds\u2019 trade deadline approach walks a tightrope as president Nick Krall hopes to balance the desire to make a run this year with preserving the farm system for future success. In a way, the strategy mirrors the Reds\u2019 season, which has hovered around the .500 mark, neither blowing away the competition nor falling too far behind. However, Krall does appear\u00a0ready to add\u00a0at least one bullpen piece, and the Baltimore Orioles might just have the right guy.<\/p>\n
Lefty Gregory Soto seems to be a perfect fit for a Reds bullpen that has struggled in recent weeks. The Reds’ southpaws have been susceptible to power hitters, allowing a .429 slugging percentage, third-worst in the majors.<\/p>\n
Soto would be a perfect antidote to this flaw as his .325 slugging percentage against is 15th-best among lefty relievers with at least 30 innings pitched. The Reds\u2019 current go-to lefty middle reliever, Taylor Rogers, ranks in the bottom 15 in the same group in slugging and on-base percentage.<\/p>\n
The Orioles are\u00a0allegedly amenable\u00a0to selling their rentals, and Soto\u2019s $5.35 million contract will be up at the end of the season. Rogers, similarly, is sitting on a $6 million contract (the Giants agreed to pay half of his salary for this season) and will be a free agent at season\u2019s end as well. If the Reds can find a\u00a0buyer for Rogers and deal for Soto, they could come out with a superior player and a bit of contract relief.<\/p>\n
Soto, though, could command a price higher than the Reds are willing to pay. When the Phillies\u00a0dealt the lefty\u00a0to the Orioles at last year\u2019s deadline, Philadelphia walked away with two promising prospects.<\/p>\n
Seth Johnson, who was ranked as the Orioles\u2019 No. 8 prospect at the time by MLB.com, has already made it to the big leagues as a reliever, and Mois\u00e9s Chace was turning into one of the Phillies\u2019 best starting pitching prospects before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May.<\/p>\n
Now that Soto is merely a rental, his cost may go down. The Orioles want to be in a place to contend next year, and that likely means adding starting pitching, particularly players under contract for at least a handful of seasons.<\/p>\n
The Reds may have to entertain an offer on one of their big-league ready pitching prospects or Brady Singer, who has one more year of arbitration. If the Reds really want to boost the bullpen, though, they could do worse than Soto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nabbing this rental would signal that the Reds are all in. The Cincinnati Reds\u2019 trade deadline approach walks a tightrope as president Nick Krall hopes to balance… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":70893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n