Winker and Puig were both in the outfield at that moment and hadn’t heard the news. Winker asked who the Reds acquired in the deal before turning his attention back to the game in progress. That game quickly became a contest of a different sort when Amir Garrett charged the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout, starting one of the most entertaining baseball brawls in years.
Maybe that’s one reason Reds President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams said a day later, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget this trading deadline. Quite a whirlwind the last 24-36 hours.”
The Reds made three trades between 10 p.m. on Tuesday and the deadline at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Here’s a quick recap:
1. The Reds dealt Puig and Double-A pitcher Scott Moss to the Cleveland Indians and Double-A outfielder Taylor Trammell to the San Diego Padres, acquiring Indians starter Trevor Bauer.
2. The Reds sent starter Tanner Roark to the Oakland Athletics and received Single-A center fielder Jameson Hannah.
3. Finally, the Reds traded second baseman Scooter Gennett to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later.
Manager David Bell told Gennett the news in the clubhouse at Great American Ball Park not long after the Reds beat the Pirates 4-1 in the series finale. Gennett was preparing to travel with the team to Atlanta, where they start a series with the Braves on Thursday, when he learned he would be heading elsewhere.
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“I was ready to go, packing up all my stuff,” Gennett said. “You never know if you do get traded how it’s going to be or when it’s going to be.”
Last week, Williams said nothing might happen at the trade deadline because the Reds were content with their roster. However, he said they did have an agenda and worked the phones throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday to complete the deals.
Bauer, who was added to the active roster Thursday and will make his first start Saturday, will help the Reds in the last months of this season and throughout the 2020 season. The contracts of all three big-league players the Reds traded expire at the end of the 2019 season. They traded Gennett in part because it allows them to give more playing time to Jose Peraza, Derek Dietrich and Josh VanMeter at second base. All three are under contract through at least 2020.
“We had a couple things we felt we needed to address for next year,” Williams said, “and felt that if we addressed them, they could also help us right now. I think we were pretty up front about that. If we were going to make additions, it would be with the longer term in mind.”
While Puig was on the field when he was traded, Bauer was in the Indians dugout. He said he didn’t want to talk to his teammates because they were trying to win a game. He immediately started analyzing the deal.
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Bauer talked to Cleveland reporters after the trade and said he was looking forward to connecting with Reds starter Sonny Gray and pitching coach Derek Johnson. Bauer and Gray pitched against each other in the American League from 2013-2018. Bauer knows Johnson because Vanderbilt recruited him when Johnson was the pitching coach there. Bauer chose to go to UCLA instead.
“I texted (Johnson) and told him, ‘It’s about time our paths cross,’” Bauer said. “We’ll see how that all goes. I’m excited for the challenge — other than the hitting. I don’t like hitting. I think we all know that. I’m not too excited about having to step in the box every game. Other than that, I’m excited about seeing the guys and learning the culture.”
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