Cincinnati Reds Swing Minor Trade with National League Rival

The 26-year-old South Carolina native made his major league debut with the Reds in 2023, playing in 25 games. He hit just .171 in 44 plate appearances and had one RBI and one stolen base.

The Reds are loaded on the position player front and had recently designated Hopkins for assignment. Perhaps the newfound 40-man roster spot will be useful in free agency or in a pending trade.

Hopkins was drafted in the ninth round of the 2019 draft out of the University of South Carolina. He is a lifetime .275 hitter at the minor league level who popped 47 home runs. 

With the Giants, he'll enter a crowded outfield mix that features Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Mike Yastrzemski and newcomer Jung-Hoo Lee.

As for the Reds, they still have more work to do this offseason. There are rumors about them trading second baseman Jonathan India and they do need to acquire more starting pitching. They have already signed Nick Martinez and Emilio Pagan as bullpen arms but they have been rumored to be interested in trading for both Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber.

Cincinnati hasn't made the playoffs since the COVID 2020 season.