Cincinnati

Reds

Bowman was acquired by the Athletics in the deal for Frankie Montas back in 2022 from the Yankees. The infielder posted an .844 OPS in Double-A last year, but that number tanked to .594 when he was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas from Midland. His path to a roster spot will be showing defensive versatility during the Cactus League.

The ping pong balls came through for the Nationals as they secure the top selection in next year’s MLB Draft after having just 10 percent odds of landing the first overall pick. Washington hasn’t picked first overall since taking Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010) in consecutive seasons. Oklahoma prep shortstop Ethan Holliday — son of former Rockies star Matt Holliday and brother of Orioles top prospect Jackson Holliday — and Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette are among the top candidates for the first-overall selection next year. The biggest movers were the Mariners, who went from the second-lowest odds at less than one percent, jumping all the way to the third pick. The Marlins, who came into the lottery tied with the Rockies for the best odds to secure the first pick, fell all the way to seventh. Here are the complete lottery results: (1) Nationals, (2) Angels, (3) Mariners, (4) Rockies, (5) Cardinals, (6) Pirates, (7) Marlins, (8) Blue Jays, (9) Reds, (10) White Sox, (11) Athletics, (12) Rangers, (13) Giants, (14) Rays, (15) Red Sox, (16) Twins, (17) Cubs, (18) Diamondbacks.

There had been reports over the past week that the Guardians were willing to listen to offers on both of those hitters, so it’s not surprising to hear that teams would be calling to see what the asking price is. The Reds are known to be in the market for help in the outfield, so Thomas would probably make the most sense, though it doesn’t sound as if there has been anything more than exploratory discussions at this stage.

Cotillo says the Red Sox haven’t been aggressive in pursuing Crochet, even though they’d seem to match up as well with the White Sox as anyone in the league. The Yankees, though, are firmly in the mix. The White Sox are looking for bats in return from Crochet, so the Reds might have to take from the major league club to satisfy them by building a deal around Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand or maybe even Matt McLain. Andrew Abbott or Nick Lodolo could also be on the table, especially since one of them would stand to lose a rotation spot to Crochet anyway.

Antone is back in the fold with Cincinnati as extra organizational relief depth after being jettisoned earlier this month from the club’s 40-man roster. The 30-year-old right-hander, who made four appearances last year for the Reds, was one of the better high-leverage relief weapons in the game a few years ago, but his career has been derailed by an avalanche of elbow issues. At this point, he’s more of a low-probability lottery ticket than anything else for Cincinnati heading into 2025.

Sanmartin has struggled to a lackluster 5.77 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 71/41 K/BB ratio across 82 2/3 innings (61 appearances, six starts) in the big leagues since 2021. The 28-year-old lefty spent all of last season in Cincinnati’s system, making 21 relief appearances, with most of those coming at Triple-A Louisville. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth at this juncture.

Banfield was a second-round pick of the Marlins back in 2018 and never wound up reaching the big leagues. The 25-year-old backstop will presumably head to Triple-A Louisville to open next season as extra organizational catching depth after batting .247/.297/.379 with nine homers in 371 plate appearances last year for Triple-A Jacksonville.

Gibaut had a 3.33 ERA in 75 2/3 innings for the Reds in 2023, but he was a non-factor last season after a nerve release procedure in May. He could return on a minor league contract.

The Reds get a major upgrade to their rotation and really didn’t have to give up a whole lot to do so, dealing from their surplus on infielders and tacking on Joey Wiemer to get the deal finished. Singer, 28, blossomed into a workhorse for the Royals in 2024, making all 32 of his starts and posting a 3.71 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 170/54 K/BB ratio across 179 2/3 innings. He has struggled with the home run ball at times — serving up 20 or more long balls in each of the past two seasons — and that issue could be exacerbated with the move to a hitter-friendly ballpark in Cincinnati. Make no mistake though, this is a great move for the Reds.

The Reds got Wiemer from the Brewers in the Frankie Montas trade, but they wound up giving him just one major league plate appearance (he walked). Considered a top-100 prospect two years ago, he wasn’t very successful in the majors in 2023 or Triple-A last year. Still, he’s worth a spot on the 40-man, even if he doesn’t project as a regular at this point.