Reds and Royals Complete Trade

The Cincinnati Reds bullpen was nothing short of a disaster in 2021. Today, they unloaded one of those relievers who had disappointed, Amir Garrett, in a trade with the Kansas City Royals. In return, they received starter Mike Minor. 

Garrett throws some serious heat, but couldn't find the plate with regularity last season, surrendered 29 walks in just 47.2 innings, while finishing with a 6.04 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. His 2020, though in a much smaller sample size, was far more successful, with an impressive 12.8 K/9 and a 2.45 ERA. it's that promise that the Royals are hoping to coax out of the flame-throwing 29-year-old. 

The Royals were also able to shed salary in the deal, allowing them to help in their push to acquire one of the Oakland A's prime starters in a trade. 

Royals one of teams trying to acquire RHP Frankie Montas from the A’s, sources tell @TheAthletic. https://t.co/kCeQexj9Gu

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 16, 2022

From the Reds' side of the deal, it's a bit of a head-scratcher. They get a struggling starter in Minor. The 34-year-old hasn't had an ERA south of 5.00 since 2019, and he's earning $10M in the final year of his contract. He's a flyball pitcher who's had trouble with surrendering home runs. The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati is going to do nothing to help that situation.

Photo Credit: Sam Greene via Imagn Content Services, LLC