The offseason was full of trade rumors for the Cincinnati Reds. They were linked to more than a few teams and players, but ultimately stuck with acquiring players via free agency. Still, teams need to consider every possible move, and they need to consider them at any given time, too. It’s not often that trades are completed early in spring training. Teams are usually comfortable with what they have by the start of the spring, and all winter has gone by and a deal probably has been discussed for a while and hasn’t moved much. But Dennis Lin of The Athletic noted late on Tuesday night that the Reds, San Diego Padres, and Boston Red Sox have reportedly discussed a 3-team deal involving Reds outfielder Nick Senzel.
Now, let’s start this off with the important stuff from the article. No agreement seems to be imminent, it’s unknown what the Reds would get back in the deal, and one source said that a deal for Senzel would be a “long shot”.
For much of the offseason the Cincinnati Reds were rumored to be trying to acquire shortstop Francisco Lindor from the Cleveland Indians. Lindor, of course, is one of the best players in baseball. Nick Senzel, on the flip side, is just a year removed from being one of the top prospects in all of baseball, ranking somewhere between the #5-#10 overall prospect in the game depending on which publication you were looking at. Cleveland has reportedly been interested in Senzel for quite a while, and he was usually the rumored carrying piece for all of the trade rumors.
It was just two days ago when Senzel told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he wants to be in Cincinnati for his whole career. And here it is less than 48 hours from that statement and his name is in the rumors again.
For Nick Senzel, the 2019 season was one that had it’s ups and it’s downs. It began with a “down”. Near the end of spring training he was sent back to minor league camp, not making the big league roster. Before the season began he injured his ankle sliding into a base in Goodyear and he missing the first three weeks of April as he recovered from the injury. Once he got on the field things went well. He only played in eight games in Triple-A before he was called up to join the big league club on May 3rd.
Through July he was hitting .285/.346/.475, but when August began Senzel went into a slump as he began to work on changing his swing. Over the next five weeks he would hit just .188/.242/.313 before a shoulder injury cost him the rest of his season. He’d would spend the offseason rehabbing from shoulder surgery on his throwing arm. In 2020 it seems that Nick Senzel is going to revert back to the swing he’s used for the large majority of his life.