As MLB's trade deadline approaches, a Q&A with Reds' Nick Krall

New York Times

3 days ago

With less than a week remaining until the trade deadline, it has been relatively quiet around Major League Baseball, as teams try to decide upon a position about where they stand and what needs to be done before the 6 p.m. ET cutoff next Thursday.
The Cincinnati Reds entered Thursday's off day at 53-50, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers and 7 1/2 games behind the second-place Chicago Cubs. But there are now three wild cards that make playoff, and the Reds' chances are much better at claiming one of those spots — although still just at 11 percent entering Thursday, according to FanGraphs' playoff odds.
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Cincinnati sits 2 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres, the current holder of the final wild card slot and a game behind the San Francisco Giants.
The Reds haven't made big, splashy trade deadline moves since the 2022 sell-off, but that was as a seller, not as a buyer. When the team was in playoff contention in 2023, the biggest addition was lefty reliever Sam Moll. Moll was excellent down the stretch for the Reds that season, but the team ultimately needed another starter and fell just short of making the playoffs, while the third wild card team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, made the World Series.
The Reds could use a right-handed bat, particularly in the outfield and like all teams, wouldn't mind more depth in the bullpen.
The Athletic caught up with Nick Krall, the Reds' president of baseball operations, on Thursday to talk about the team's approach to this year's trade deadline and where the team stands entering this final two series before the trade deadline.
Note: Conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
How do you view where you guys are as a team and going forward toward the trade deadline?
We are 2 1/2 games out of the wild card spot, and we've made up some ground. We've treaded water a little bit over the last couple of weeks. We've played well; we've played not so well. We're right there, I don't think we've played our best baseball yet. We had some injuries early, they've come back and we've had some guys play well. Our pitching has been really good for us this year, but you're looking and hoping your best baseball is ahead of you.
So, 2 1/2 games out of the playoffs, you're in contention. The standings tell you that. Is this a team that needs to add to its roster or is it a team that you feel can compete and go into the playoffs with what you have right now?
You'd always like to add, no matter who you are or what you are. You'd like to figure out how to add something. Is it going to be a big move? Is it going to be a small move? They can all help you in different ways.
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If you can add, it's going to help you. But how much? If you add one thing, does it take something else out? If you add a guy who is a left-handed hitter that's more of a platoon guy, is that taking someone else out of the lineup? If you add a right-handed hitter, you're taking someone out of the lineup. A hitter may not be as good of a defender as who he replaces. You have to look at everything and I'm not sure one player is a definite upgrade.
I think we have a lot of solid guys across the diamond and a lot of young players who have taken steps forward this year. There's not one super move that is out there that you can say makes you five wins better. I think there's a lot of moving parts to those moves.
Is the market challenging at the moment because there are so many teams that still seem to have a chance? Is it hard to find sellers?
Yes. There are some teams that have sold, there are some teams that are trying to thread the needle, there are some teams who are trying to buy. There are teams trying to do all three.
I think finding a match has been tough. We talked about it in the offseason when we made the Jonathan India for Brady Singer trade that it was hard to find prospect trades with different people. We were able to find a major leaguer for major leaguer deal because we both had a need.
I think if you're trying to thread the needle, you're trying to find major-league players that you can get back for major league players. Maybe you improve a spot if you have depth somewhere else and somebody has a surplus. You have a lot of conversations, but with the extra playoff team, you have a lot more teams that are trying to win and get themselves into the playoffs.
It seemed like this past offseason, only two teams, the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins, were looking for prospect deals. Has that market opened up?
There's more teams looking for prospects, but at the same time, some teams are looking for upper-level pitchers or position players depending on what they want. Some teams are looking at prospects across the way, some teams don't have as much to trade as you'd like, so you may not even make a trade with that group.
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You mentioned depth, what would you consider a position group in your organization with depth?
That's a great question. I don't know if we have an organizational depth at any one spot.
People from the outside are going to say, 'You have a lot of shortstops,' and 'You've got a lot of starting pitchers because of what you have at the big-league level.' I wouldn't say that's organizational depth, I'd say you need a lot of starting pitchers.
Hunter (Greene) is coming back from rehab, he pitched well yesterday (in Arizona), but he's still on a progression to get back. You're going to run into some things — we've got injuries, so you don't want to trade your organizational depth starters because you might need them. They're going to be extremely important to pitch a game or two when it comes down the stretch.
I hear people say we have depth at shortstop. Matt McLain is a second baseman right now. Noelvi Marte is at third and he's played some outfield. So, these guys aren't going to all necessarily end up at shortstop, but I would say we have a decent amount of quality middle infielders in our minor leagues. Some are going to end up in center field, some are going to end up third or second. That always happens.
You have some guys who are free agents after the season or have options, but it seems like those guys — like Nick Martinez, Emilio Pagán, Brent Suter, Austin Hays, Taylor Rogers — have been big not just on the field, but also off of it and in the clubhouse. Does that come into consideration, what a guy like Martinez means for this staff or Pagán to the bullpen?
When you sign free agents, you're trying to bring guys in that can not just enhance your team on the field, but also enhance your clubhouse. I think those guys have all done that. We brought in several guys who are leader-type guys — Pagán, free agent. Maritnez, free agent. (Jose) Trevino was a trade. Singer is a lead-by-example guy who gives you innings. Hays was a free agent. We brought a lot of guys in who are quality, veteran guys and they've really helped this team. They've enhanced what we've done here and they've all been great in the clubhouse but have also done well on the field.
How much does having a veteran manager in Terry Francona give you confidence in what it can do based on what he sees and is telling you?
We have a lot of conversations where we can be very honest about where we are, what we need and what we need to do. It's been great to have him in that seat and have those conversations with him.
(Photo of Krall: The Enquirer)