The Reds are ready to trade closer Aroldis Chapman and outfielder Jay Bruce after finishing 64-98 this past season.
Both could draw a nice haul for Cincinnati. Chapman, 27, had 33 saves and a 1.63 ERA amid constant trade rumors in 2015. Bruce, 28, hit 26 home runs and drove in 87 runs last season.
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“We’re in a tough division (the NL Central),” Walt Jocketty, Reds president of baseball operations, said, via Fox Sports. “We’ve got to be realistic about it.”
The Reds dealt starting pitchers Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake in July when they were already out of the playoff hunt, but decided to keep the rest of their top talent.
Chapman is under team control through next season, while Bruce is under team control through 2017.
“I would say probably,” Jocketty said when asked if he's more willing to deal those players now. “We still wanted to be somewhat protective of our club last year. We had certain guys we just didn’t want to move. We started at the deadline knowing that we would gear up — ’16 would be a transition year and in ’17 and ’18, we think we could be stronger and more competitive.”
Chapman is projected to earn $12.9 million in his final year of arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Bruce will make $12.5 million in 2016, and the Reds hold a $13 million club option for 2017.
Reds owner Bob Castellini is “on board” with making more moves this offseason, sources tell Fox Sports.