Cincinnati Reds' 3 Most Tradable Assets for the 2014-15 Offseason

The Cincinnati Reds are by no means bursting with tradable assets. The list is short—not because the Reds lack the talent, but considering the crippling injuries to the organization's biggest assets, it's impossible to derive any significant value for guys who would normally command a lot if healthy.

Guys like Joey Votto, Mat Latos, Homer Bailey and even Brandon Phillips have all been recently plagued by the injury bug and thus are not likely to receive anything close to what they probably should. Any inquiring general manager is going to ask to see the Carfax report. 

Therefore, the list of tradable assets this offseason is short and sweet. Two are starting pitchers, both very significant to the rotation, and the other is a major bullpen asset.

Johnny Cueto

Following a stellar 2014 campaign in which the right-hander went 20-9 with a 2.25 ERA, there is little doubt Cueto would command the most value in return. 

On October 29, the Reds officially exercised their $10 million option on Cueto, ensuring his services for the 2015 season. But what would they realistically get in return for their ace?

Another prized ace was recently dealt at the trade deadline: David Price. Any deal for Cueto would probably look similar to the deal for Price because the Cueto and Price do share similarities.

Price was part of a three-team trade, but ultimately, the Tampa Bay Rays received 26-year-old left-hander Drew Smyly and minor league infielder Willy Adames from the Tigers. They also received infielder Nick Franklin from the Seattle Mariners, the third team in the mix.

Per Baseball America, Smyly was the No. 3 prospect in the Tigers system after the 2011 season. By 2012, he was playing in the majors. Adames was ranked as the No. 30 prospect in the Tigers organization following 2013. Franklin was rated as the No. 5 prospect in the Seattle system after the 2012 season.

In total, for their prized Cy Young Award-winning ace, the Rays received two top-five prospects (one being a very good starting pitcher with an MLB ERA of 3.26 in three years) and a mid-level prospect. Would this package be enough for Cueto, who, if signed, will command even more than the $105 million that teammate Homer Bailey received?

Like Cueto, Price is also a free agent after the 2015 season. The Rays were virtually in an identical situation as the Reds. They opted to deal.

Mike Leake

With five major league seasons under his belt, Leake is 53-42 with a career ERA of 3.92. Given his good health (averaging 191 innings pitched over last three years) and consistent performance (three of five years with an ERA under 4.00 and a career 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings), you'd have to think he would command serious talent in return.

Of course, the Reds could certainly extend Leake at a much cheaper rate than either Latos or Cueto. From Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors:

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While Leake's ceiling in the bigs may never surpass the "solid" level (he has an even 100 ERA+ over his career), this also means that the Reds could extend him at a much lower price than Cueto or Latos.  A Leake extension could look something like the five-year, $65MM deal the White Sox gave John Danks a few years ago, as Leake and Danks are decent comparables in terms of age and career numbers to that point in their careers, plus both had one arb year left before free agency.

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Aroldis Chapman

Assuming they aren't silently considering trading two emerging stars in Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco, Chapman would be the last tradable asset for the Reds. He's coming off a record-setting year in which he broke the record for consecutive appearances with a strikeout. 

According to Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors, Chapman is due for another significant pay raise:

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For Chapman, 26, the move comes at an important time for the contractual side of his career. He earned $5MM this year after opting into arbitration. That will no doubt happen again next year, and Chapman will be in for a significant raise after racking up 36 saves over 54 innings. Though those totals were limited by his DL stint to start the year, the remainder of Chapman’s numbers — a 2.00 ERA, an absurd 17.7 K/9 (against 4.0 BB/9), and an equally ridiculous 3.5 H/9 — will support a nice new payday.

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Al Behrman/Associated Press

Of any of the trade assets, Chapman would probably be the most useful to trade. The crux of the Reds is its starting rotation, which finished with a starting rotation ERA ranked No. 3 in all of baseball. They should keep that intact if possible.

The bullpen was atrocious last season (11-30 4.11), but when you consider guys like Tony Cingrani and Sean Marshall are likely to get healthy, and with guys like Raisel Iglesias set to probably join the bullpen, Chapman is simply a luxury the Reds aren't in a position to afford.

Chapman pitched 54 innings last season. If he could be swapped for a left field bat the Reds so desperately need, might that make sense instead of dismantling the rotation? 

It's a gamble for sure. The longer the Reds wait to move any of their pitchers, the less value they'll likely command, as teams will have less time to control them. But if the goal is to win in 2015, it's likely no one gets moved and the Reds try to fill needs via free agency. 

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.