Reds Rank 20th For Their Trade Deadline Performance

The Cincinnati Reds were ranked 20th for their deadline performance by Grantland.com. Here is the explanation for why:

On July 24, the Reds sat three games out of first, with the Brewers, Cardinals, and Pirates all tied for the division lead. A week later, they were 6.5 games out, with the Brewers riding a hot streak and taking control of the NL Central. The trade deadline is complicated enough, but when you throw in a big, last-minute losing streak that requires shifting gears from "buyer" to "seller" it's nearly impossible. No team had its fortune change so dramatically in late July as the Reds. So we'll give them a pass for not finding takers for Cordero and other veterans (though convincing the Nats to take Jonny Gomes was fortuitous and strange).

The good news for Reds fans is this team still has much of the same young core that produced a division title last year. Johnny Cueto's emerged as a capable no. 1 starter (3.35 FIP, 35th among the major league's 114 starters with 100-plus innings pitched) and Jay Bruce is on the brink of stardom (21 homers, a .356 wOBA, and a strong glove that probably belongs somewhere between this year's neutral rating and last year's 19.7 UZR).3 If Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols leave the division, that could make the Central even more wide open, and give Cincinnati a chance to get back on top.