Report: Cincinnati Reds-plotting trade for 2 key players to solve team weakness

Rumors linking the Orioles and Reds as potential trade partners have ramped up in recent days, and the teams do seem like a good match. Baltimore’s bevy of prospects would help replenish Cincinnati’s stores now that many young Reds are in the majors. The Reds, to their credit, have a number of arms that could benefit the Orioles down the stretch run. The problem is, these rumors have focused on the wrong Reds.

Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez have been the names floated on the grapevine as trade targets, but a deal involving these players would be a return to bad habits for the Orioles. Last season, Baltimore took a flier on an injury-prone, struggling rental in Jack Flaherty, and the bad taste should still be in the team’s mouth. Montas would be much the same.

Martinez would be a better fit, as he has been much more consistent year-over-year than Montas, and he has experience in the rotation and the bullpen in 2024. But why waste prospects on a rental when you can get more controllable years from the same squad?

The Orioles have been rumored to be targeting the Reds’ arms, but they’re looking at the wrong players
Sam Moll, despite being 32 years old, is under team control through the 2027 season and has had a resurgence since being traded to Cincinnati at the deadline last year. The lefty ranked in the top 10 among qualified pitchers in all expected stats categories in 2023, and he’s been even better this season.

Moll’s ability to quiet bats would be particularly valuable for the Orioles’ bullpen. Baltimore’s relievers are roughly average when it comes to hard-hit rate; their mark of 38.5 percent ranks 17th in the Majors. Even if the Orioles whiff on big-name relievers such as Mason Miller, Moll would be a welcome addition to their ranks.

The Orioles have also been linked to the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, so it seems they might not be afraid to go big. If that’s the case, why aim for Montas when Nick Lodolo is right there? Like Moll, Lodolo is under contract through 2027, one year longer than Skubal, but the Reds’ lefty does come with some injury concerns. He has eclipsed 100 innings just once in his professional career and once in college.

Lodolo, along with Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, is seen as a key part of the Reds’ future rotation, so he won’t come cheap. Cincinnati might ask for elite prospect Coby Mayo, whose right-handed power would play exceptionally well at Great American Ball Park. The Reds do have high-level pitching prospects waiting in the wings, so the Orioles might be able to swing an unlikely deal at the deadline.

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