I don’t love that the Reds are putting their trade chips to use at the deadline, but this was inevitable. According to multiple reports, Reds righty Tyler Mahle is headed to the Minnesota Twins for a couple of hitting prospects and one pitching prospect.
Cincinnati went with the volume return for Mahle, who was starting to get some serious competition on the trade market (Carlos Rodon, Nathan Eovaldi, Noah Syndergaard), but this is some nice quality too.
Mahle, 27, is under control next season, as well, and has far better peripherals (3.22 xERA) than results this season. It’s a good pickup for the Twins, who reportedly paid a hefty price: SS Spencer Steer (4th in the system), LHP Steven Hajjar (11th), and 3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand (14th).