GM Brad Meador discusses the Reds' plans for the deadline

Published 1 day ago• 6 minute read

NEW YORK — Cincinnati Reds general manager Brad Meador said that the front office hopes to be buyers at the trade deadline in two weeks, but it doesn’t look like 2025 will be an all-in season.

“We’re certainly looking and talking to every team and figuring out how we can in the short term help this team and at the same time we’re not going to hurt ourselves long term by selling our best prospects,” Meador told Charlie’s Chalkboard. “We’re not doing that. We’ve talked about sustainable success here and what that means. To do that, we have to be able to focus short term and long term at the same time.”

Entering Saturday afternoon, there were 20 teams within five games of a playoff spot. The bottom of the league — teams like the Rockies and White Sox — are so bad that they almost have nothing good to trade.

The Reds are 2.5 games back of an NL Wild Card spot. “I wish our record was better than it is,” Meador said.

There are a lot of teams in a similar position as the Reds who are figuring out which way they’re going to go at the deadline.

While things can still change over the next two weeks, the Reds are pointing toward being buyers.

“You have to feel like you have the team to get into the playoffs and compete in the playoffs to make those moves,” Meador said. “Part of that is having enough depth to do it. I feel like we’re close and could do that. I do wish we were a little bit closer with our record. But I feel really strongly about this group. They believe in each other, and they believe we can win in the playoffs. Now, we have to put ourselves in position to get it.”

Because the Reds have several key players (Nick Martinez, Emilio Pagán, Austin Hays) in contract years, because they’re right on the fringe of a playoff spot and also because this is a young team with real upside that it even has a chance to reach in 2025, there are a lot of different strategies that this team could take at the end of the month.

The starting point as the Reds chart their course for the deadline is that they’re looking to add.

“Our players and our clubhouse know we’re in this together,” Meador said. “I know that they know how bad the people here want to win. We want to do it with this group.”

The Reds’ veterans feel similarly.

“Keep doing what we’re doing, and the front office is going to take care of all of that,” Tyler Stephenson said. “We believe in what we have in here. If we add more, great. You’re never going to say no to that. We definitely believe what we have in here is good enough.”

Nick Martinez said, “I don’t think anyone is really focusing on it or putting any added pressure to the trade deadline. Our mentality all year is to win the game in front of us. If we keep that mentality, we’ll be in a good spot come the trade deadline and beyond.”

The big question is how much payroll flexibility the front office will get from ownership. It’s only been two months since the Reds traded Alexis Díaz simply to free up a few million dollars. Would they have to trade a piece off of the roster to create enough flexibility to add a player on a bigger contract?

Is the Reds’ front office entering this process with much flexibility to work with?

“We’re still working through it,” Meador said. “We’ll have a better idea as we get into next week.”

The Reds’ biggest strength might be their versatility, which does help at this time of year. They could add a starter and move Nick Martinez to the bullpen. They could add a first baseman and move Spencer Steer to left. They could add an outfielder. They could add just about anything.

The rotation is in an interesting spot. Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, Nick Lodolo and Brady Singer are a solid top four. Chase Burns is electric, but he’s also on an innings limit.

The Reds are counting on a big finish to the season from Hunter Greene when he returns from the IL. The timeline to return should be a month or less.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Meador said. “Hunter threw yesterday. He was 99 mph in Arizona. It’s just a matter of building up his innings now.”

In 2023, the plan was that Greene and Lodolo would return from the IL and save the rotation. Greene returned but was hot and cold down the stretch. Lodolo never returned from the IL that season. The lessons there are that what the team could look like in a month or two is always tough to predict, and that depth is critical.

“The deadline is where you have to make decisions,” Meador said. “You have to look at your projections and the information you have. At the end of the day, you also have to have a good pulse on your clubhouse and your team and where you are and what it looks like and what you think it could look like. Ultimately, you do have to make a gut decision.”

Looking at the big picture, the Reds are at an interesting juncture. While this year’s team would have to level up to become a true contender, there’s a window between 2025 and 2026. Then, the potential of a work stoppage in 2027 could rip out any momentum that the team could create over the next two seasons. Most of the young core is under contract through 2029 (Elly De La Cruz) or 2030.

The Reds will always build their core from within. Spencer Steer, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, TJ Friedl, Tyler Stephenson and the young starters, among others, represent the current wave that they’re trying to win with. The next wave is at Double-A or has been recently called up to Triple-A in the cases of Sal Stewart and Hector Rodriguez.

Those are two names to know.

“They’re a part of what we’re going to be,” Terry Francona said.

While the Reds probably won’t mortgage their future and trade a standout prospect for a rental, they’re still looking at prospect-for-big leaguer style moves.

“I’m not saying we’re not going to trade any (prospect),” Meador said. “We’re willing to do that. We just have to be smart about that.”

Years of team control have always been very valuable for the Reds, and they’re also viewed as as valuable as ever around the league. There are teams who could be sellers who won’t be dealing pieces with years under contract after 2025 (Last year, that was essentially the Reds’ strategy as they only traded Frankie Montas and Lucas Sims).

There are a few different paths the Reds could take operating as buyers. They could strengthen the depth at positions of weaknesses and trade for low-cost rentals like they did in 2020, 2021 and 2023. They could try to make a bigger Gavin Lux style trade where they trade some mid-tier future value for a solid piece with multiple years of team control. A bigger splash looks much less likely, and payroll will always be a part of the conversations.

Here’s my trade deadline watch list.

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