The Cincinnati Reds have made another move to bolster their bullpen. Late Tuesday night they completed a trade with the New York Yankees for Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson. Wednesday morning, they acquired Colorado Rockies reliever Mychal Givens. In return, the Rockies received minor league right-handers Case Williams and Noah Davis. This is a huge move for the Reds, who look like they will be big buyers this season. Cincinnati only sits six games out of first place behind the Milwaukee Brewers. This is not the first time the Reds have struck a deal with Colorado either, as they received Jeff Hoffman earlier this year.
Bad Relief Corps Getting Better
The Reds are slowly, but surely, getting better in relief. This has painfully been their weakness all season long, as they’ve blown game after game in the late innings. They have just picked up Mychal Givens to add to the back end of their bullpen to help shore up some late game woes. This season, Givens has appeared in 31 games for Colorado while finishing 29 2/3 innings. He has 34 strikeouts and couples in a 28.6% whiff rate, something the Reds need badly. Givens formerly was the Baltimore Orioles closer, so he has experience closing out games.
The Rundown
In his seven years in the majors, Mychal Givens has appeared in 337 games, pitching 375 innings with 446 strikeouts and a 3.36 career ERA. Givens gives the Reds an experienced pitcher with a ground ball rate of 31.5% and a fly ball rate of 39.7%. He will fit in very nicely in the back of the Cincinnati bullpen and will definitely give the Reds someone to lean on until Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims return from their rehab stints in Triple-A Louisville.
The Reds have been mostly quiet with trades until now. Hopefully within the next few days, they can work out a couple more trades to get the necessary help for the bullpen. Milwaukee’s seven game lead in the NL Central isn’t insurmountable, especially now since they’ve lost slugger and former MVP Christian Yelich to a positive COVID-19 test. Running down the Brewers will be a tall task, but if any team can do it, it’s the Cincinnati Reds. The trade deadline for MLB is on Friday afternoon at 4 pm Eastern Time.
Main Photo
Players Mentioned:
Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson, Mychal Givens, Case Williams, Noah Davis, Jeff Hoffman, Tejay Antone, Lucas Sims, Christian Yelich
