While not officially confirmed this morning, reports appear very solid that the Indians, Reds, and Padres pulled off a major deal. At the center of the multi-player trade stand two players with their share of troubles:
In the midst of a heated playoff race, the Cleveland Indians have traded right-hander Trevor Bauer to the Cincinnati Reds and will get outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes as part of a three-team deal that includes the San Diego Padres, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday.
ESPN.com
As part of the trade, the Indians also will receive left-hander Logan Allen and minor league infielder Victor Nova from the Padres and minor league pitcher Scott Moss from the Reds, sources told Passan. Cincinnati outfield prospect Taylor Trammell, ranked No. 14 on Keith Law’s top midseason prospects list, will head to San Diego.
I wondered if a trade like this might happen, where two teams tried to improve each other this season by trading stars. I’m not quite sure this is that trade, as Cleveland is a bit short on starting pitching at the moment with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco out. It may be that the two teams wanted to get rid of hot heads, as Bauer was just fined for tossing a baseball from the mound over the outfield fence in anger, and Puig was in the middle of a brawl Tuesday night.
The Reds are now set up to have a rotation of Luis Castillo, Alex Wood, Sonny Gray, and Bauer, which gives them a very nice front four. The Indians get two outfielder who use up lots of outs, put in return provide lots of power. Terry Francona has a history of being good with players like Puig. I remember how he protected Manny Ramirez during their time with the Red Sox.
The Padres get Trammell, who at seasonal age 21 projects as a pretty good lead-off man. He already draws tons of walks and steals with abandon.
So the Indians trade for today, trying to break their World Championship drought. The Reds trade a bit for the future, with the hopes they get hot and grab a wild card. The Padres get a player who should eventually fit well in their park.
What little I saw of Puig on TV in LA, I couldn’t stand him. Though he was a head case prima donna..but as my Wife is a Reds fan (and she hated the deal when the Reds acquired him) I got to watch him a lot this year and I now love the guy! He plays HARD! Hustles and plays all out. I am quite glad to have been wrong in my initial opinion. My wife is now sad that he is leaving, as am I. Much respect for Sr. Puig.
Indians made out like bandits in this deal. Franmil Reyes is a legit monster — it wouldn’t surprise me to see him hit 40-50 homeruns. I don’t know what the Padres were thinking.