Reds GM would love to bolster roster before trade deadline

Reds 5.5 games back two weeks before deadline
The Reds celebrate after Yasiel Puig scored the winning run against the Brewers on July 2, 2019, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

The Reds celebrate after Yasiel Puig scored the winning run against the Brewers on July 2, 2019, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Reds manager Nick Krall discussed the front office's thinking as baseball's trade deadline approaches Monday on the Big Time Baseball podcast. He said the Reds want to improve for the long run, not just for the next two months.

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“We’re looking at anything possible to help us move forward,” Krall said. “From a major-league standpoint, if you can add something to bolster your team to help you make a run, that would be awesome. We’d love to do something like that.”

The non-waiver trade deadline is July 31. In recent years, the Reds have been sellers at the deadline. They traded Adam Duvall to the Atlanta Braves on July 30 last season. Two years ago, they dealt Tony Cingrani to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31. In 2016, they sent Jay Bruce to the New York Mets on Aug. 1.

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This year could be different because the Reds (43-48) still have a chance to contend. The Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Monday at Wrigley Field and trail the Cubs (50-44) by 5½ games in the National League Central Division.

“I think you’d love to be able to buy this year,” Krall said. “We’ve got a couple more weeks until we get to the actual deadline. We want to see if we can get some consistency. I’d love to be able to tell you we’re going to buy and this is what we want. I think we’re looking to do anything we can to make this team better and better for the long run.”