Adam Dunn went from last place to first place in an instant. No wonder he’s happy.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to actually play on a first-place team in August,” the slugging outfielder said on a conference call after the Reds traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Reds move forward after Dunn“:
“We obviously don’t have a lot of pop in the lineup,” Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo said. “It doesn’t mean we can’t win ballgames. Yesterday, guys were sitting around [saying], ‘we might not win another ballgame all year.'”
“It was one of those pleasant surprises,” the slugger said on a conference call. “To come off the terrible month that we had in Cincinnati, and you get a phone call today saying you’re being traded to a first-place team. As a player, that’s all you could ask for.”
“I am very fortunate to be here,” Dunn said after batting practice Tuesday. “I don’t have the words to describe it. You play the game to put yourself to in position to be in the playoffs and be in a pennant race. Now, I’m fortunate enough to have this opportunity.”
Dunn was playing for a Reds team that had lost six straight and was in last place, 19 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs. Now he’s with the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, who had a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers entering play Tuesday.
Dunn has never played in the postseason.
“I appreciate the chance to play for a ring,” he said….
Dunn acknowledged it was tough to leave Cincinnati, the only franchise he has played for in his eight-year career.
“It was bittersweet,” he said. “I was excited to get a chance to play for something meaningful in August and September. It also meant leaving a place where I met a lot of great people and fans. It was difficult.
Also, did you know this?
Dunn said he took grounders at first just about every day while with the Reds and is willing to play there if Melvin decides to shift things around when Upton returns.
“It’s on the way to left field in Cincinnati,” Dunn said jokingly about first base. “So I’d take some grounders and then head to left.”
For what it’s worth, according to this poll, 81% of Arizona fans like the Dunn trade. No doubt. On the other hand, Reds fans are cheering for this.