Wittenmyer & Williams: Why Cincinnati Reds need to answer Luis Arraez trade quickly
Wittenmyer & Williams is a weekly point/counterpoint column from Enquirer Reds reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and sports columnist Jason Williams. This week, they discuss how aggressively the Reds should pursue early trades.
Wittenmyer: Never thought I’d say this, but six weeks into the season it might be time for the Reds lineup to find a rally sausage?
Williams: Huh?
Wittenmyer: You know, like the Minnesota Twins. Dude brought a summer sausage to the dugout and those guys started rubbing the sausage and won 12 straight games.
Williams: The Reds don’t need a gimmick. They just need to be able to rub two hits together once in a while.
Wittenmyer: That’s what I mean. It’s been a really quiet month for the bats. By the time they got done losing to the Orioles on Sunday, they were the worst-hitting team in the majors (.210) – even worse than the crappy White Sox.
Williams: Good thing TJ Friedl came back Tuesday.
Wittenmyer: They need a lot more than that.
Williams: That’s one thing we agree on. That’s not enough. What the Reds needed was to trade for two-time batting champion Luis Arraez instead of letting him go to San Diego when Miami made him available last weekend. It looked like the Reds – and most of baseball ‒ got surprised that a player like that was available this early in the season.
Wittenmyer: It’s obviously rare for any trade of significance to happen this early. But Reds President Nick Krall didn’t get caught flat-footed. He told me over the weekend he’s been making calls, too, but hasn’t “found a match yet.”
Williams: How is Arraez not a match for what the Reds need? A match? That ought to use that to light a fire under these guys.
Wittenmyer: Let’s see what kind of difference Friedl makes at the top of the lineup. Besides, even if the trade market is starting sooner this year, who do you want them to go get right now?
Williams: What about a guy like Luis Rengifo of the Angels? He’s having a good year at the plate. He gets on base. He steals bases. He can play a bunch of positions. He’s even a switch hitter. He has one more year of club control, so you’re not looking at a rental player. Sounds like a Reds kind of guy.
Wittenmyer: He might be a good fit. If the Angels are selling yet. If the price is right. And if you’ve got a place for him to play when this lineup is back to full strength.
Williams: I wouldn’t count on this lineup being at full strength this season.
Wittenmyer: Noelvi Marte’s coming back from his steroid suspension on June 27.
Williams: That’s what I’m talking about. You’re going to count on a guy who let his team down by getting busted? A guy who’s only got six weeks of experience in the big leagues?
Wittenmyer: OK, how about Matt McLain, their best player last year? Team officials expect him back from his shoulder injury right after the trade deadline, in August.
Williams: Do you really believe McLain is going to be back this year? That was a major surgery. Hard to count on what you’re going to get from him, even if he does come back.
Wittenmyer: They should at least have a better idea of that by July. And they can address that in the trade market at that point if they need to.
Williams: It might be too little, too late. If trades are going to start happening early this year, the Reds need to be a part of that now.
Wittenmyer: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think they should take a little more time for the market to show itself. There also have been a lot of extenuating circumstances, including a revolving door of flu-bug absences, that created this mess. It’s hard to know exactly how good this lineup is right now.
Williams: Well, if they don’t already know, then they’re going to find out real quick with seven games coming up against the Dodgers in the next couple weeks.
Wittenmyer: Yikes. Maybe it’s time to talk to the Twins about borrowing their magic sausage.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds are worst-hitting team in MLB. Should they make deal?
