Predicting Reds’ biggest move before MLB trade deadline

If the Reds are going to maximize their return between now and August 3, Brady Singer is the player most likely to generate the loudest bidding war. The right-hander is a free agent after this season — making him a pure rental, but his value to contenders is undeniable. Singer has made 18 starts in 2026, owns a respectable 2.83 ERA over his last five outings, and has logged 150 or more innings in each of the last four seasons.

In a deadline market dominated by pitching demand, Singer’s durability alone makes him catnip for rotation-hungry contenders. The Brewers, Braves, and Yankees have all been actively scouting veteran starters, and Singer fits the profile of a No. 3 or No. 4 postseason arm who won’t buckle under playoff pressure.

The Reds won’t get a franchise-altering haul for Singer given his middling strikeout numbers, but Bowden specifically named him as a multi-prospect return candidate. A pair of controllable, MLB-ready pieces in exchange for two months of Singer and the salary relief that comes with it would be a clean win for Cincinnati’s rebuild.

The Bullpen Rentals Are Cincinnati’s Lowest-Hanging Fruit

While Singer is the headliner, the Reds’ real volume of transactions will likely come from their bullpen. Caleb Ferguson is a free agent at season’s end and has spent the last two summers getting traded at the deadline, making a third straight August trade almost poetic. Brock Burke, acquired via three-team trade this offseason, has been Cincinnati’s most reliable left-handed reliever with a 3.02 ERA across 46 appearances.

Left-handed bullpen arms are the most coveted commodity at any deadline, and Burke, even with a slightly elevated walk rate, will draw heavy interest from the Dodgers, Phillies, and Cardinals, all of whom are desperate for late-game southpaw options. Pierce Johnson rounds out the relief corps cleanup, adding another veteran arm the Reds can flip for young talent with club control.

The strategic beauty here is that none of these departures damage Cincinnati’s long-term outlook. Ferguson, Burke, and Johnson would all walk in free agency anyway. Clearing them out while netting two or three controllable prospects per deal is exactly how smart organizations accelerate rebuilds without triggering a full teardown.

The Wild Card: Hunter Greene’s Uncertain Future

The most polarizing name in the Cincinnati deadline conversation is Hunter Greene. The 26-year-old right-hander is signed through 2028 with a club option for 2029 — and he only just returned from the 60-day IL on July 4.

His $8.3 million salary in 2026 jumps to $15.3 million in 2027 and $16.3 million in 2028, a financial reality that has made some within the organization quietly wonder whether that money would be better reallocated through free agency and trades.

MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon identified Greene as Cincinnati’s biggest trade chip — a talent with ace-level upside whose contract structure could give the Reds leverage to demand a premium package. The counterargument is equally compelling: why trade a 26-year-old power arm who just came off a 60-day injury layoff at a discount?

Krall and the front office have signaled they would only move Greene if the return was genuinely overwhelming, major-league-ready talent, not just prospects. Don’t expect Greene to move unless something shocking falls from the sky. But his name will be in every big-market GM’s notebook between now and August 3.