The Reds came out of the gate hot this year and looked like a real Wild Card contender. Now they've fallen 9 games under .500 and 8 games back in the Wild Card race, and the phone in Brad Meador's office is reportedly ringing off the hook about one specific name.
MLB Trade Rumors broke the news that the Reds are already fielding calls on Spencer Steer.
Steer isn't your typical rental. Reports indicate he's under arbitration control for 2 more seasons beyond this one, meaning Cincinnati doesn't have the same fire-sale urgency on him that it does on pending free agents like Brady Singer, Tyler Stephenson, or Nathaniel Lowe. That gives the Reds real leverage — they can wait for the right offer instead of getting fleeced just to shed salary.
The versatility is the whole pitch. Steer can play first, third, and left field, which makes him a plug-and-play fit for basically any contender that needs a bat without needing to clear a defensive spot. With impact hitters scarce on this year's deadline board, that kind of positional flexibility is exactly what front offices are hunting for in mid-July.
It hasn't all been smooth this season — Steer reportedly slogged through an ugly June before heating back up heading into the All-Star break, pulling his overall numbers back to roughly league-average. That late surge is doing him zero favors if the Reds are trying to keep him quiet on the market; instead it's making him look exactly like the buy-low-then-cash-in trade chip other GMs love to circle.
For a fan base that's watched this front office rebuild around cheap, controllable talent, moving Steer would sting even if it makes complete baseball sense. He's been a steady piece of the Reds' young core, and dealing him now — with multiple team-control years still attached — would be as much a signal about where this franchise thinks it's headed as it is about clearing a roster logjam.
Nothing is imminent yet. This is the earliest stage of deadline chatter, the kind of report that just tells rival executives to start dialing. But with the trade deadline looming and Cincinnati's playoff odds shrinking by the week, Steer's name is the one to watch climb the rumor mill from here.