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Several big names changed addresses during the winter meetings earlier this week, but there are still plenty of premier players available to be had via trades.

This MLB offseason is quickly shaping up to be one of the most active in recent memory. There weren’t that many top-notch free agents, but the ones who were available were franchise-changers. Of course, a shortage of free agents means the trade market is a hotbed for new rumors and player movement.

Some of the best at their respective positions have been floated around the rumor mill over the course of the past week. Very few players are safe from trades this time of year, so you should never be surprised when aces and middle-of-the-order bats are made available.

Below are a few of the most recent names to hit the mill.

Cole Hamels

The interest in Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels is sure to heat up now that Jon Lester has found the place he’ll pitch for the next several seasons.

One team thought to be in on the left-hander is the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the team won’t get involved in talks with the Phils:

The “heavy lifting” Sherman refers to is the bevy of moves L.A. made during the winter meetings. It shipped Dee Gordon to the Miami Marlins, acquired Howie Kendrick from the Los Angeles Angels, signed Brandon McCarthy to a four-year deal, acquired Jimmy Rollins and dealt Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres.

Talk about a busy couple of days.

Despite the roster overhaul, the Dodgers could still have the pieces necessary to make a deal with Philadelphia. Shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena, now displaced by Rollins, is an attractive piece given his outstanding defense.

Los Angeles also has top prospect Corey Seager though it’s unclear as to if he’ll be available.

The way the current rotation is structured, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke would open things up at Nos. 1 and 2 before the likes of Hyun-Jin Ryu and McCarthy make their starts. Juan Nicasio is probably the No. 5 at this point.

Hamels is an obvious upgrade over Nicasio, and a deal would make the Dodgers rotation absurdly deep. That’s enough incentive to get a deal done, but it still appears as if they’ll only target bench and depth pieces now that they’ve made so many big moves.

This is certainly a situation to monitor closely. The Dodgers could reenter the bidding at the drop of a hat.

Jay Bruce

The Cincinnati Reds have already traded Mat Latos this offseason, and there’s even more talent on that underachieving roster to be dealt. General manager Walt Jocketty spoke toward the end of November about how he plans on handling the offseason, via John Fay of Cincinnati.com.

“We’re still talking to both agents and clubs about trades. We really aren’t close on anything.”

It still appears as if they aren’t close on anything, as Sherman tweeted about how the Baltimore Orioles attempted to strike a deal with the club:

The Orioles have a desperate need for outfield bats after losing Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz to free agency. As the roster currently stands, Alejandro De Aza and David Lough would play the corners with All-Star Adam Jones manning center field. That won’t cut it.

It’s unclear as to what the Reds have asked for in return for Bruce, but it’s safe to assume that arms like Brian Matusz and Dylan Bundy came up in talks. It’s no surprise that Baltimore may have scoffed at those requests.

Baltimore isn’t the only team that has a need for a power bat. Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller opined that the San Diego Padres are a perfect fit:

The Padres have already acquired Kemp, and new GM A.J. Preller has shown a willingness to upgrade his lineup. Before Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas signed with the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively, Preller and the Padres were involved in talks.

Bruce could very well man right field in Cincy in 2015, but the incentive to move him is high. The 27-year-old has mashed 187 homers through seven seasons, making him one of the best pure power bats in the game.

Justin Upton

If the Padres are unsuccessful in their possible attempts to land Bruce, they could turn to another power bat currently playing right field for the Atlanta Braves.

Justin Upton was the No. 2 right-handed power hitter in the National League in 2014, smashing 29 homers and leading the Braves offense. He has been the subject of rumors for most of the offseason. The trade of Jason Heyward acted as a bit of a catalyst to those talks.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the Padres are in the mix for his bat:

A pairing of Upton and Kemp in the outfield would instantly make the Friars lineup a productive group. They ranked last in baseball this year by scoring a dreadful 535 runs.

Should they get Upton, the team would then be in a position to deal from their outfield depth and improve other areas of the team.

Carlos Quentin would be displaced by a trade, but his days as an outfielder are pretty much numbered. He’s best suited for a job in the American League as a designated hitter.

A trade would also make one of Cameron Maybin or Will Venable expendable.

The Padres offense has already improved enough with Kemp to make other NL West teams take notice, but adding Upton would aid immensely.

Look out for San Diego in 2015 if it can pull this off.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn

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Coming off a 2014 season that was disappointing for both the Cincinnati Reds and Jay Bruce, it’s being reported the club might be dangling the two-time All-Star outfielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The Reds are very much at a crossroads heading into 2015. Following a 76-86 campaign that was marred by injuries to a number of their key players, including Joey Votto, Homer Bailey, Brandon Phillips and Bruce, they could aim to keep the core together for another shot.

But the payroll is climbing, and four of their starting pitchers—Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake and Alfredo Simon—have only one season left before they reach free agency.

So the other option is to make some pre-emptive moves to bring in players who are both younger and have several years of team control.

As Rosenthal writes: “Though club officials say the team is merely listening on players rather than shopping them, a trade of Bruce for more cost-effective talent would be a major step toward retooling with a lower payroll in 2015.”

Last season was the worst of Bruce’s seven-year career, as he hit just .217/.281/.373 with just 18 home runs. That can be attributed at least in part to the fact that the right fielder underwent left knee surgery in early May and missed less than three weeks but might not have been at full strength for much of the year.

That makes the timing here a bit odd: Bruce’s value on the trade market isn’t exactly at its highest point.

Still, the lefty slugger is a good candidate to bounce back to his previous levels of performance, considering he is only 27 years old and had a run of four straight seasons with at least 25 homers and an OPS north of .800 prior to last year.

Besides that, Bruce’s contract is rather reasonable; he’s owed $12 million in 2015, $12.5 million in 2016 and has a $13 million option in 2017 (with a $1 million buyout).

Aside from getting younger and cheaper, the Reds’ biggest needs are at shortstop and left field.

“We’re still talking to both agents and clubs about trades,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said via John Fay of the The Cincinnati Enquirer. “We really aren’t close on anything.”

With so much pitching available in both free agency and trades, clubs are yearning for offense, especially power, and Bruce provides just that. He’ll be a hot commodity and a good fit for a number of teams who have the desire and the means to acquire him.

Like these.

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Folks in baseball circles probably wouldn’t be surprised if the Cincinnati Reds dealt a starting pitcher this offseason. The Reds might take a different, more surprising plan of action to trim some payroll, however, as they are reportedly considering trading away outfielder Jay Bruce. 

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has the report:

The Reds also have engaged in preliminary discussions on deals involving two-time All-Star right fielder Jay Bruce, according to major-league sources. And though club officials say the team is merely listening on players rather than shopping them, a trade of Bruce for more cost-effective talent would be a major step toward retooling with a lower payroll in 2015.

As Rosenthal notes, the Reds likely have to trim their payroll this offseason, which could balloon to $120 million by next season. For a smaller-market club that only has one wild-card loss in the last two seasons, it’s hard to justify a figure that high.

Bruce is coming off of a disappointing season that saw him battle injuries and finish with a .217 average, 18 home runs and 66 RBI. In August, he discussed the issues he was having with his knee, per John Fay of Cincinnati.com:

It’s been miserable. It’s honestly been the most embarrassing year of my life. But I know this isn’t me. It’s definitely humbling, not that I needed to be more humbled by anything. I feel like I’m pretty self-aware and have some humility. It’s just one of those things. You have to find a way to take some positive out of it to get better. I think this is going to make me better.

Bruce is just 27, of course, and hit at least 20 homers in his first six seasons in the league, so it’s hard to imagine the Reds wouldn’t find a suitor if they are indeed serious about moving Bruce to cut payroll.

The issue for the Reds might be getting value in the deal. While they will try to market Bruce as the player who hit 30 home runs and 109 RBI in 2013, teams might only be willing to pay for the player who had a down year in 2014. 

For that reason, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Reds looked to trim payroll elsewhere. Bruce still has plenty of star potential, and the Reds shouldn’t sell him low simply to save a few bucks. 

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It’s finally come to this, Cincinnati Reds fans. With virtually no hope remaining in what has been one of the more miserable, disappointing Reds seasons to date, we shift our focus to 2015. In Redsland, 2015 is all we have. Beyond that, very little is guaranteed. 

Anyone with even a fractional interest in this team understands where improvements need to be made.

For years, dating back to 2010, left field has been a constant area of debate. We remember the days of the Jonny Gomes and Chris Heisey platoon. Ryan Ludwick was supposed to put an end to that, but in typical Reds fashion, a crippling injury in 2013 has reduced Ludwick to a shell of his former self.

He was signed by Walt Jocketty to essentially be the power bat in the middle of the order. But Ludwick has just 10 home runs in the near 479 plate appearances since he injured his shoulder on Opening Day of 2013. The power outage seems to be real. But it was probably expected considering he is 36 years old anyway.

And it’s not just the power. Everything from batting average, OBP and slugging have all been down since the beginning of 2013. With that in mind, it’s probably realistic that the Reds will spend $4.5 million just to send Ludwick off.

And with his departure comes the topic of replacements. 

The popular idea may be to just hit the market and sign a big bat. But with so many vital players approaching arbitration, that’s unlikely. Because of what these players are making now, it is not far-fetched to assume that Mike Leake and Mat Latos get salaries close to or above $10 million. 

Alfredo Simon’s salary will likely jump from just $1.5 million to maybe somewhere around $5 million, but that is strictly a guess and is in no way validated. Could be more, could be less.

Then there are, of course, the salaries of Jonathan Broxton, Sean Marshall, Homer Bailey, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto.

Unless there is a decision to increase payroll, it is highly unlikely the Reds will have the cash necessary to procure the services of a bona fide cleanup hitter from the market. Therefore, they may have to consider internal options.

But is that a bad thing? With a healthy Votto, a healthy Jay Bruce, Devin Mesoraco and Todd Frazier, aren’t any of them qualified to bat cleanup?

In my opinion, there are enough able bats on a healthy Reds roster to hit for power. But OBP is a major problem. Per ESPN.com, the Reds are No. 28 in OBP, nearly dead last. That, more than nearly anything else, needs to be addressed. The following are three guys who may be able to help do that from left field.

Jason Bourgeois

Jason Bourgeois is the starting center fielder for the Triple-A Louisville Bats. This 32-year-old right-handed option is no stranger to the big leagues. He’s had stints with the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers. 

With a very limited time in the majors, his slash line after just 515 plate appearances in six years is .259/.305/.326. Surely that doesn’t blow anyone away, but that’s a very limited sample size.

In 15 minor league seasons, Bourgeois is slashing .282/.342/.386. This year, he’s slashing .283/.336/.372. He has 143 hits in 126 games played. This isn’t a power hitter, and he won’t drive in many runs, but he gets on base at a healthy pace and can steal a base. 

Felix Perez

Felix Perez has played mostly right field in Louisville this season in a year in which he was named to the Independent League All-Star game. On the season, Perez is slashing .282/.328/.456. This 29-year-old has spent five seasons in the Reds farm system. His slash line for those five years is .281/.330/.405.

Unlike Bourgeois, Perez does have some power. He’s got 11 home runs in 425 at-bats and 68 RBI to add to that. He also has 150 games of left field experience in five minor league seasons, with a fielding percentage of .990.

Per Rotoworld, Perez was once a prized prospect of the New York Yankees, but he lost out on a $3.5 million signing bonus when it was discovered that he lied about his age.

Devin Mesoraco

That’s right. According to Cincinnati Enquirer beat writer John Fay, the Reds plan on possibly moving Mesoraco around a bit next spring. Per Fay, Mesoraco is willing, saying:

If that’s something I was asked to do, I’d absolutely do it. There’s a few positions that I could play, probably first base, maybe left field, that would take more work. But I don’t see any harm in doing it. Spring training as long as it is, there’s plenty of time for it. I’d be more than willing.

This is a likely option to consider, because with Brayan Pena inked through next season, he’ll be able to play catcher while Mesoraco‘s bat stays in the lineup. It has been a challenge to keep him in the lineup for Bryan Price this year, so if Mesoraco becomes more versatile, it will help things out a lot.

Remember, while none of these options will blow you away, keep payroll in mind. It won’t be the No. 4 hitter who takes the Reds to the next level. It will be the team’s dominant pitching staff and, hopefully, its restructured, healthy bullpen.

The Reds need money to secure the very core of their team moving forward, so left field should be addressed as cost-efficiently as possible.

*Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.

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In the midst of a four-game losing streak, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Cincinnati Reds. Though they rest just 3.5 games out of first place in the National League Central, they’re surrounded by three other teams all within reach and in no hurry to fade any time soon.

The details are obvious. Joey Votto is making his second extended stay on the disabled list (DL). To complement this crippling void, the Reds will be without Brandon Phillips for possibly the same amount of time.

According to ESPN baseball analyst and former Reds general manager Jim Bowden, the Reds are at least five weeks away from getting Votto and Phillips back. 

#Reds GM Walt Jocketty just told us that both Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips are approximately 5 weeks away…ouch Sirius 209 XM 89

— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) July 20, 2014

Because the Reds will be without two pillars of their offense, the pressure to produce will likely shift to three main candidates: Todd Frazier, Devin Mesoraco and Jay Bruce.

Frazier and Mesoraco have seemingly done everything in their power to ensure the Reds’ offense has runners crossing the plate. Frazier is hitting .286/.346/.495 and has arguably been the Reds’ first-half MVP. 

He leads the team in hits (108), home runs (20), RBI (54) and runs scored (58). At this juncture, he is the most important Red swinging the bat.

Mesoraco has been contributing at a high volume as well. He’s hitting .294/.365/.583 and his .294 batting average and .593 slugging are both a team-best. 

Jay Bruce has been a different story. Bruce was given the opening game against the first place Milwaukee Brewers after a horrendous series in New York. In three games after the All-Star break, Bruce went 0-for-11 with just one walk and five strikeouts in that time.

He’s currently riding a four-game hitless streak where he’s 0-for-15.

Bruce’s streakiness is no surprise to anyone. Throughout his seven MLB seasons, he’s been prone to prolonged slumps that can last months. But this season looks very different than the rest.

Right now, Bruce is sporting career lows in a number of categories, including batting average, OBP, slugging and OPS. Last year, the left-handed slugger finished the season with a 5.13 seasonal WAR (per ESPN.com/MLB). According to Baseball-reference.com, Bruce’s offensive WAR is currently 0.3.

And the team is definitely feeling it. Bruce’s production is so pivotal to the Reds’ success. His splits in wins and losses are only too revealing to how much the Reds are depending on him.

In Reds victories this season, Bruce is hitting .278/.352/.500. In losses, Bruce’s slash line plummets to .152/.242/.265. At the risk of being too cliche, the difference is night and day.

Losing Joey Votto means losing quite arguably the best left-handed bat the Reds have to send to the plate.

That places even more emphasis on the need for Jay Bruce to figure it out, because there has to be a bat in the lineup that can punish exceptional right-handed pitching.

A crippling facet of Bruce’s game of late has been his propensity to strike out. While he’s always been known to pile on strikeouts throughout the year, this year, he’s almost on pace to eclipse his previous high of 185 that he achieved just last season.

Also, for the first time in his entire career, Jay Bruce has a fielding percentage of less than .900. He’s currently at .875. The current average fielding percentage throughout the league in right field is .993. 

It’s understandable why Bryan Price gave Bruce they day off on Monday’s opener against the Brewers. On the season, Bruce is hitting just .176/.263/.294 against the division rivals.

He was on the DL the last time the Reds played the Nationals (who the Reds play after Milwaukee), so there’s nothing on the books to project performance in that series.

Against the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, the team the Reds will face after the Nationals, Bruce is hitting just .200/.273/.200. Then the Reds will play two teams they haven’t seen yet this season: Miami Marlins and the Cleveland Indians.

That makes the short-term prognosis on Bruce not very positive, especially when you consider the Nationals and their No. 1 ERA in baseball (per ESPN.com/MLB).

But while the immediate future looks grim, the Reds will need their young slugger to snap out of whatever he’s going through. With reportedly five weeks to go before either Votto or Phillips return, the onus will fall on Jay Bruce to be the left-handed bat who keeps the Reds within striking distance until the team is whole again.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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After seven long weeks atop the Reds player power rankings, Johnny Cueto was officially lifted from the throne following a disastrous outing against the Washington Nationals. It was an odd sequence of events; the first two runs to cross the plate were unearned. By that time, Cueto had already been laboring, working nearly every full.

But on a night when the Reds’ ace was less than perfect, the defense behind him was less than adequate, making for a beating at the hands of the Nationals and a new No. 1 in this week’s power rankings.

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The 2013 MLB season hasn’t gone the way the Cincinnati Reds had hoped, but there are still many reasons for fans to watch the team in September.

Cincinnati is in position to make the postseason for the third time in four seasons. Whether it wins the division or snags a Wild Card has yet to be determined.

Manager Dusty Baker saw his team get hot after key players returned from the disabled list in August, but the Reds are running out of time to put together a big winning streak.

With one month to play, the Reds will be one of the most exciting teams to watch down the stretch.

Here’s a list of what to watch for in September. 

*All information is courtesy of baseball-reference.com

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The Cincinnati Reds lost a few players to the World Baseball Classic, but some of the remaining have been on fire while others can’t wait for spring to end.

Cincinnati came into the spring as the favorites to win the NL Central, and the team doesn’t have many available spots left on the 25-man roster. 

With that said, the few position battles going on have been put under the microscope. The backup catcher spot is starting to work itself out, but the battle for the utility role has only brought out the best in each candidate.

The Reds had a couple of games get rained out, but they did get to go up against Canada last week.

Less than three weeks remain until Opening Day, so let’s check out who is hot and who is not.

*All stats are courtesy of Reds.com

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The Cincinnati Reds bring their 97-65 regular season record and the No. 2 seed in the NLDS to the bay shores of San Francisco. It is here that they begin a five-game series against Buster Posey and the Giants. With two teams that are so evenly matched battling it out, every last advantage or disadvantage could mean the difference between a win or a loss.

It’s in this type of environment that questions are bound to arise. So let’s look at five key questions surrounding the Cincinnati Reds and their success during this upcoming showdown.

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As Joey Votto goes under the knife to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the Cincinnati Reds will continue on without their leader in pursuit of the NL Central crown. What seemed to look like a nice stretch ahead for the Reds—23 of their next 26 games come against teams with losing records—has now seemingly turned into a grind.

The Reds are going to be in need of production from their surrounding cast members and most of this responsibility is going to rest on the shoulders of one, Jay Bruce.

Bruce sent the Reds flying into the 2010 postseason in walk-off fashion, tossed in one of the most remarkable months of any Reds player of all-time during May of last season and began this year on a tear that carried the offense early.

But, after a great April that saw Bruce produce a slash line of .296/.337/.617, he has only managed .228/.312/.453 the rest of the way—covering two and a half months.

This brings us to the present. Jay Bruce leads the team with 57 RBI – eight more than Joey Votto‘s 49 RBI. But, many have come in non-clutch or unimportant moments in the game. After hitting .298 w/RISP (with runners in scoring position) last season, Bruce maintains a paltry .205 average in the same situations this season.

Now is the time for Jay Bruce to flip the switch from wanna-be star and debatable All-Star, to the super star that all the scouts and other teams think he can be. If the past is any indicator of future performance, the near future looks to be bright—but that’s the near future and not the immediate future. 

Over the past three seasons combined, Bruce has averaged .280/.365/.571 in August and .280/.382/.514 in September. July has proven however to be his worst month, coming in at .214/.283/.333 over the past three seasons.

If Bruce were hitting the same .298 w/RISP as he did last season, he would currently have near 75-80 RBI. Jay Bruce only needs to hit .275-.280 overall to be a superstar. The power numbers are there, now they just need to become consistent.

A consistent Jay Bruce more than fills the void of losing Votto for a period of time. Nobody will ever replace Votto, but Bruce has the ability to carry an offense just as Joey Votto does.

What the Cincinnati Reds need at this moment is for their 25 year old right fielder to come of age, to flip the switch, and to be their version of Andrew McCutchen. Just like Bruce, everyone knew that McCutchen had the abilities. When McCutchen flipped the switch to super stardom, the Pittsburgh Pirates leap-frogged Cincinnati into first place and became instant contenders in the NL Central. 

Jay Bruce has the potential to be the Reds’ savior and the chance to prove he is, and can be, the player that everyone (including himself) expects him to be. The next month is his audition for super stardom—will he rise to the occasion?

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