Since calling up Elly De La Cruz, the Cincinnati Reds have become baseball’s most surprising team. With the help of a 12-game winning streak in June, the Reds find themselves battling the Milwaukee Brewers for first place. While Cincinnati has an explosive offense, its pitching staff is one of the worst in the league. If the Reds want to win the division and end their playoff drought, then they should be buyers at the deadline and acquire Paul Blackburn.
The Reds Starting Rotation Has Struggled
Embed from Getty ImagesOutside of Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, the Reds’ pitching staff has struggled. The pitching staff has combined for an ERA of 4.77 and only the Royals, Rockies, and Athletics have given up more earned runs. Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo are currently on the injured list. This has forced the Reds to move promising rookie starter Andrew Abbott to the top of the rotation. Graham Ashcraft has struggled since coming off the injured list. Brandon Williamson is dealing with rookie struggles and free agent pick-up Luke Weaver has been a disaster. The Reds can’t win the division with the starting rotation they have now.
Paul Blackburn Is Available
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Athletics’ Las Vegas interest is overshadowing their struggles on the field. This team is in for a long rebuild and with Blackburn having two years of control left. I don’t believe the Athletics will be good again in the next years making him expendable. Blackburn is also just one year removed from his All-Star game selection. Despite missing the first month of the season and playing on a horrible team, Blackburn is having a decent season. He’s currently 1-2 with an ERA of 5.48, a FIP of 3.71, and he also has 44 strikeouts to just 15 walks. With a much more explosive offense behind him in Cincinnati, I believe his number will only get better.
Blackburn Has Team Control Left
Embed from Getty ImagesTeams like the Reds are looking for cost-controlled pitchers. After this season, Blackburn will have two more years of team control remaining on his contract before free agency. This time allows Cincinnati to make him a part of their postseason window. Given the young age of their starting rotation, the Reds would benefit from having an experienced starter like Blackburn.
What It Might Take
Lately, the Reds have been calling up their top prospects to the show. This means that it’s also time to get value from their other prospects since their spot on the big club will be taken. If the Reds were to trade Nick Senzel, Cam Collier (third-ranked prospect), Connor Phillips (eighth-ranked prospect), and Sal Stewart (seventh-ranked prospect) then that should get the job done. The A’s currently have the 22nd-ranked farm system and need to add more younger players to it.
The 2023 Reds Are In A Similar Position Like The 2008 Brewers
The Reds find themselves in a similar situation to that of the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers. Instead of continuing their rebuild, Milwaukee decided to end their playoff drought by trading a bunch of top prospects for CC Sabathia. While trading for Blackburn wouldn’t have the same magnitude as Sabathia, it would certainly help their chances. This is also an opportunity for the Castellini’s to work their way back into the good graces of Reds fans as well. Making a move like this would at least show that ownership is getting serious about winning.
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