The Cincinnati Reds had a disappointing 2024 season, finishing with 77 wins. Their offense was particularly disappointing but they could not afford the highest caliber of free agents this winter. In recent days, Cinncinati has brought in outfielder Austin Hays and brought in two pitchers to supplement their roster. But The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday that the Reds and White Sox were in trade discussions about Luis Robert Jr.
“The teams did not resolve how much of Robert’s salary the White Sox would have paid, sources said,” Rosenthal reported. “Reds infield prospect Edwin Arroyo, who missed all of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, was one player under discussion. But ultimately, the Reds could not get comfortable with the total cost.”
Arroyo was the Reds’ number three prospect in MLB.com’s 2024 rankings and the top position player. So if the White Sox do trade Robert, they will look for a massive haul. They traded Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox earlier this offseason and got four prospects currently in their top 15.
Trading Robert would be the final big step of the White Sox teardown. For the Reds, it would be a massive move to put them in NL Central contention.
Robert is due $15 million in 2025 and has $20 million club options for 2026 and 2027. The White Sox should trade him this year, before those club options come into play, as his value will be the highest. While multiple teams should be in on the Robert discussions, the Reds are in a unique position to make this trade.
During their rebuilding period, the Reds hit on a lot of infielders in the draft. Elly De La Cruz is a bona fide superstar , Matt McLain has had a great start to his career, and Noelvi Marte should bounce back. But their outfield is not as deep and Robert would immediately become the best player out there.
Arroyo might be a top-end infielder in the majors but has a long path to get into the Reds lineup. There are five other infielders among their top ten prospects, so trading from strength should be their strategy. The highest-ranked outfielder is Hector Rodriguez at number 12.
The White Sox should be going after the best prospects available in a Robert trade. The Reds have a great pipeline but the financial considerations need to be figured out.
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Lucas Giolito is tired of hearing from angry sports bettors, and the Boston Red Sox pitcher says he recently spoke with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about his concerns. During an episode of Rob Bradford's "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast that was released on Monday, Giolito spoke about what he described as a growing problem with angry gamblers issuing threats to players. The right-hander said he has received countless messages from fans who placed wagers on him and lost, even when he pitches well. "I'm getting messages after every game," Giolito said, via Jon Paul Hoornstra of Newsweek. "Even games where I pitched well, where they're mad at me because I hit the strikeout over instead of being under; prop bets, all these crazy things. People put hundreds of dollars on it. They don't have a lot of money but they're gambling it anyway because it's a disease. They freak out." Giolito added that there is only so much players can do in terms of blocking and reporting people on social media. He said his girlfriend has even received "nasty" messages from fans and that he asked Manfred what would need to happen for MLB to take serious action. "You can go private on social media. You can block accounts. It only goes so far. One thing I said to Rob was, 'Is it gonna take a player getting assaulted in front of their apartment building by some disgruntled that lost a bet for real action to be taken?'" Giolito said. As sports betting has been legalized across more states, the number of fans wagering has rapidly grown. Giolito alluded to prop bets such as over/unders on strikeouts, which are popular among casual gamblers. Giolito certainly is not the first professional athlete to raise concerns about disgruntled bettors. Scottie Scheffler recently revealed a change he had to make because of the actions of those who placed bets on him. As for what Manfred, MLB or any other sports organization can do about it, that remains to be seen.
The New York Knicks are looking to make more moves to upgrade their depth as they figure to be one of the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference next season. Of course, the Knicks made their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000 last season and with the amount of injuries to top players in the East, the Conference is wide open entering next season. Because of this, the Knicks have emerged as one of the favorites to win the East thanks to their core led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Despite this, Sports Illustrated’s Jackson Caudell and Rohan Raman recently created a three-team mock trade that would see the Knicks move on from Towns. In the trade, the Knicks would add Jrue Holiday, Robert Williams III and a 2028 first-round pick via the Portland Trail Blazers while they would send Towns and Pacome Dadiet to Portland. The Trail Blazers would also send Duop Reath to the Atlanta Hawks in this proposed mock trade. While the Knicks are looking at ways to improve their depth, moving on from Towns would be a tough decision for them to make despite his struggles, especially on the defensive side, during the playoffs last season. It would also be a tough decision to swap Towns for Williams III due to his injury history, especially with Mitchell Robinson’s injury history as well and the Knicks’ lack of true center depth. While that may be the case, adding a veteran point guard in Holiday to the second unit could be a good addition to the Knicks’ bench and Williams III would also give them more size. Despite this, it is highly unlikely that the Knicks will move on from Towns this summer and likely into next season as they see their core being able to help them compete for a championship next season.
Before Ryan Reaves was traded to the San Jose Sharks earlier this summer, he had a front-row seat to Auston Matthews' first season wearing the “C” for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matthews dealt with injury setbacks throughout the year, missing 15 games after hurting himself during training camp. He still found a way to finish the season, racking up 78 points in 67 regular-season games, adding 11 points in 13 playoff outings. Reaves appeared on the "Leafs Morning Take" podcast on Monday to discuss that and many other topics. Reaves opened up on his two seasons in Toronto. The enforcer offered insight into what made the 2024–25 campaign unique and how Matthews handled the spotlight during his first year as the team captain. “I think a lot of (Matthews') leadership is led by example,” Reaves said. “He works incredibly hard in practice. And on the ice, I think you see how hard he works in all three zones. “Obviously, grinding through some issues this year, and, you know, really trying to grind through it for the team.” Reaves said that even though Matthews was forced to miss time throughout the season, the captain maintained a presence Reaves — a 38-year-old veteran — found instructive, especially for younger players in the locker room. “To me, Auston was a guy who really led by example, really tried to drag guys into battles, practice,” Reaves said. “Never took days off, never, never coasted in practice. Always working his (expletive) off, on the ice before everybody else, off the ice last, you know. “(It’s) something that, as a vet, it was great to see. It really teaches those young guys how to, how to be, you know, the best in the world.” Reaves, however, acknowledged that Matthews wasn’t the most vocal captain he’d ever played with. That said, the veteran still respected Matthews' approach to leading the Maple Leafs. “Everybody leads differently, right?” Reaves said. “You can’t be the most vocal and the most leading by example, you can’t, you can’t do it all.”
The Dallas Stars, Jason Robertson and the Montreal Canadiens are at the center of growing NHL trade rumors as Dallas faces salary-cap challenges and a bold proposal leaves Stars fans wondering what could happen next. The Stars' offseason has been full of speculation, but one rumor is stirring more debate than most, a proposed trade that would send Robertson to the Canadiens. At just 25, Robertson has already scored 168 goals in 374 NHL games, becoming a cornerstone alongside Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger from Dallas's impressive 2017 draft class. Yet, as cap space tightens following the arrival of Mikko Rantanen and a long-term deal for Matt Duchene, Robertson's future with the Stars has become a frequent topic in trade chatter. Even Montreal-based writer Cimon Asselin is fueling the discussion with a recent article, where he suggested a deal that could make Robertson a Canadien, as seen in this detailed proposal. Asselin's hypothetical trade package includes Mike Matheson, Sean Farrell and Montreal's unprotected 2026 first-round pick, a high-value asset given the presence of top prospect Gavin McKenna in that draft class. From a Stars perspective, dealing Robertson would free significant cap space, but I think losing a player of his caliber would be a massive gamble, especially for a team built to contend now. It's hard to imagine Dallas weakening its top-six unless the return is franchise-altering, and for many fans, that might not be enough. Still, these discussions show how valuable Robertson is on the market, and how much the Stars' roster moves this summer have the rest of the league watching closely.
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