Manager David Bell told Gennett the news in the clubhouse at Great American Ball Park not long after the 4 p.m. deadline. 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.
“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.”
Although Gennett’s name had come up in trade rumors two years in a row, he hadn’t prepared himself for the news.
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“I think the more you prepare about things that maybe are not going to happen, things can tend to be a little messed up,” he said. “Really it’s just knowing it can happen and taking it in stride and going with the flow.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Reds announced the trades of Yasiel Puig to the Cleveland Indians and Tanner Roark to the Oakland Athletics.
The trades came as the Reds were putting the finishing touches on a series win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. They won the series finale 4-1.
Gennett hit 50 home runs in three seasons for the Reds. He hit four in one game in 2017, becoming the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat. This season, he had no home runs in 21 games. He spent most of the season on the injured list with a right groin strain before debuting in late June.
Gennett went 1-for-3 Wednesday in his final game with the Reds. He’s hitting .217. He joins a team that’s 2½ games back in the wild-card race. The Reds are six games back.
Dick Williams, Reds President of Baseball Operations, said it was tough trading Gennett but the Reds have other options at second base and Gennett had less positional flexibility than some of his teammates: Jose Peraza, Josh VanMeter and Derek Dietrich. Gennett was also in the final year of his contract.
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“Scooter was one of our great success stories in terms of a low-cost acquisition and how he played and how he ingratiated himself with the community here, and going all the way to the All-Star Game,” Williams said. “Unfortunately this year, the injury cost him a large part of the season. In that time, we started to play some of those other guys at second base. Between now and the end of the year, we have the opportunity to give playing time to players under control for next year.”
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