Now that Nick Martinez has picked up his qualifying offer, the Cincinnati Reds could round out their starting rotation by trading Jonathan India to the Kansas City Royals for Brady Singer.
The Cincinnati Reds are gearing up for a bounce-back season in 2025, and reshaping their pitching staff may be high up on their list of priorities.On top of Martinez coming back, the Reds have a returning core of Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo. Top prospect Rhett Lowder also showed promise afterTrade deadline acquisition Jakob Junis entered free agency, though, and Brandon Williamson is set to miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September.
That leaves room for at least one more starting pitcher in Cincinnati, since only 35 of Martinez's 152 appearances over the past three seasons have come as a starter. If new manager Terry Francona wants to use Martinez out of the bullpen and keep Lowder in the minors to open 2025, that leaves two spots up for grabs in the Reds' rotation.
One internal option in Graham Ashcraft, who has four years left of team control. Ashcraft has made 60 starts for Cincinnati over the past three seasons, going 17-20 with a 4.91 ERA.The 28-year-old right-hander finished the year 9-13 with a 3.71 ERA, 1.275 WHIP, 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.1 WAR across 32 starts. It was a significant improvement upon his production in 2023, when he went 8-11 with a 5.52 ERA, 1.447 WHIP, 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.3 WAR in 29 starts.
Singer isn't a one-year-wonder, however, as his best year came back in 2022. The righty went 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.141 WHIP, 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 4.5 WAR that season.Having lefties Abbott and Lodolo in place gives the Reds the flexibility to add any pitcher they want without worrying about being too righty-heavy. Greene, Martinez, Lowder, Ashcraft and Singer are all righties.
Cincinnati could hold steady and flip India for someone else, but with Matt McLain coming back from injury and Noelvi Marte back from his suspension, the former NL Rookie of the Year is expendable. While the iron certainly isn't hot anymore, India still carries value as an experienced leadoff hitter with two years of team control.Follow Fastball On SI on social mediaSam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks.
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