With a strong run of baseball following the All-Star break, the Reds have gotten back into the playoff hunt. They have a real chance to make a push for a playoff spot and look more poised to buy rather than sell.
All of the moving pieces that surround trade deadline week can create a distraction, and Francona is stressing the importance of leaving those decisions to the front office.
“The more you can keep it to baseball, the better off everybody is,” Francona said. “What I care about is us winning. Those guys upstairs, I know they’re making calls like every team does. For every 200 things you hear about, maybe one happens. You’re better off just trying to win.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The players in the clubhouse have a similar perspective.
“You want to play good all year,” center fielder TJ Friedl said. “There shouldn’t be any added pressure before the deadline. You should be playing good all year. It doesn’t matter what the date is.”
During his long managerial career, Francona has seen the impact that a deadline acquisition can make. He said his favorite one was reliever Andrew Miller, who was traded to the Cleveland Guardians in 2016 and went on to be a playoff hero for a team that won the American League pennant.
Miller pitched in 26 regular season games for Cleveland in 2016 and posted a 1.55 ERA. Then in the playoffs, Miller pitched 19 ⅓ stellar innings as he allowed just three runs and struck out 30 batters.
The 2004 Red Sox received a spark from trade deadline additions with the famous Nomar Garciaparra trade. Boston traded a former All-Star but improved their defense by acquiring shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
“There’s nothing in Boston that was ever normal,” Francona said. “We were in the Metrodome (in Minnesota at the time of the trade), so I couldn’t get service in the clubhouse. I had to keep going down the steps and back up the steps. Finally I said to (general manager Theo Epstein), ‘Do it or not, or I’m going to have to have another surgery.’ It was Nomar. It was a lot going on.”
About a week after the trade, Francona said that it felt like the team got moving.
“We had guys who could hit, and we had guys who could defend,” Francona said. “We used the whole team, and it got fun.”
The 2025 Reds have opportunities to improve the middle of the lineup as well as the bullpen. They could also target a starter and slide Nick Martinez into the bullpen.
While the Reds won’t be dealing their top prospects, they’re active in trade conversations.
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