Just as it began to appear that the trade deadline would pass without the Reds making a deal, we get the news that Tony Cingrani has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers:
Sources: The Reds have traded Tony Cingrani. Not sure to whom yet.
— Zach Buchanan (@ZachENQ) July 31, 2017
Sources: Reds will receive OF Scott Van Slyke and a prospect for Tony Cingrani
— Zach Buchanan (@ZachENQ) July 31, 2017
Van Slyke's inclusion more about evening out salary. He's making $1.3 mil but Reds are good on LHB in the OF
— Zach Buchanan (@ZachENQ) July 31, 2017
#Dodgers traded Van Slyke an Clementina to #reds for Cingrani
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 31, 2017
No one is surprised that Cingrani has been dealt — he was due to get a nice raise after this season — but it’s sad to see the guy leave. While he never really reached the potential we dreamed about after his early success as a starter, he was a roughly league-average pitcher over six seasons in a Reds uniform: 11-20, 4.03 ERA, 99 ERA+. He just turned 28 in the last month, so there’s reason to believe that Cingrani can provide effective relief for a contending club going forward. We wish the lefty the best of luck.
I’ll look forward to hearing what the Reds say about the return for Cingrani. Scott Van Slyke is a 31 year-old right-handed hitting outfielder who has been pretty bad over the last couple of seasons (.196/.280/.308, -0.4 bWAR) and has never really established himself as a full-time big leaguer. If Van Slyke can hit like he did in 2013-14, he can be an effective bat off the bench, especially against lefties.
On the other hand, if he takes even a single at-bat from Jesse Winker, I’ll be highly disappointed. As noted above, Enquirer scribe Zach Buchanan suggests that Van Slyke was included to even out the salary. We’ll see. Van Slyke will reportedly report to Triple-A Louisville.
Of course, Van Slyke’s dad was pretty good and played against the Reds in that memorable 1990 National League Championship Series.
Hendrik Clementina is the other piece in the trade, and he looks much more interesting. A catcher who just turned 20 in June, Clementina is currently hitting .370/.439/.554 (4 home runs, 25 RBI) in 24 games in the Rookie Pioneer League. From Curacao, he signed with the Dodgers in 2013, and he’ll report to Cincinnati’s Pioneer League affiliate in Billings. And that’s pretty much all I know about him at this point.
We’ll update as more information becomes available.