This is, more or less, the list of teams interesting in making a trade with the Cincinnati Reds for Todd Frazier: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels. And there might be more coming.
The Reds are having a fire sale on their way to rebuilding. They almost got rid of Aroldis Chapman but right now the move is stalled. They’re trying to find a team for Jay Bruce. They traded Johnny Cueto last season. This team is moving away any chip they can find some value for in the form of prospects and young players that have shown more than potential.
What will Frazier get? Right now the White Sox and Indians are trying harder than anyone to get their hands on him. He’s been an All-Star the last two seasons, hitting 29 home runs in 2014 and 35 home runs in 2015. He played third base last season and made quite a lot of errors, which means he might be moved elsewhere on the field (has played almost every possible position for the Reds), but it’s his power that teams are after. He’s not too bad of a hitter as well, going .255 last season.
Frazier is probably the player the Reds are shopping the hardest because his value is easy to determine. The 29-year old will make $7.5 million next season, while Chapman can’t be moved because of the domestic violence investigation (by the league) and Bruce might need a couple of outfielders to be off the free agents market in order to get a sense of what teams are willing to give up for him.
Frazier has played for the Reds since 2011, including five postseason games in 2012 and 2013, not doing anything special there. He has 108 home runs and 324 RBIs through 633 games, hitting .257 for his career with a .784 OPS.