Reds Floated as Trade Fit in Blockbuster Deal for Astros Superstar

Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer recently put together a list of the best potential trade suitors for Houston Astros superstar Yordan Alvarez. Rymer listed the Cincinnati Reds, notorious for being cheap, as the No. 3 suitor on his list.

"The Reds check some major boxes as a potential Cinderella team, including: A future Hall of Fame manager, A pitching staff with a 3.47 ERA, and two outstanding young hitters in Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart," Rymer wrote. "However, their offense is batting a collective .207 and scoring only 4.0 runs per game. And contrary to San Diego and Detroit, it's hard to see how any gains are going to come from within. They therefore absolutely need to be in the market for an impact hitter this summer. And if Alvarez is out there, it would be malpractice not to at least pick up the phone."

This would be the big swing that the Reds need. But could it make sense?

Why It Makes Sense

Apr 22, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez (44) runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) during the first inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

For those who are unaware, Alvarez is one of the best hitters in baseball. He's slashing .347/.466/.779 with an OPS+ of 245, 11 home runs, and 26 RBI.

For the Reds to pull this off, it would almost certainly have to be a three-team trade for this idea to be semi-realistic. The Reds would need to offload a few contracts to be able to afford Alvarez's $26.8 million salary. Remember, this is the same team that had to offload Taylor Rogers to be able to afford adding Ke'Bryan Hayes' $7 million per season. They're a few months removed from barely being able to squeeze Eugenio Suárez's $15 million into the payroll.

But it gets a bit more interesting when looking at a three-team trade because the Reds could look to cut ties with Brady Singer ($12 million, expiring contract), Emilio Pagan ($10 million), and potentially another player. But the Astros wouldn't want to add these two because they're seemingly not contending this year anyway.

That's where a third team would come into play.

The Reds, hypothetically, would be sending Singer and Pagán to a contending team, let's say the Toronto Blue Jays, to help understand the idea. The Blue Jays would then send prospects, whatever the Reds value Singer and Pagán as worth, to the Astros. The Reds would also send prospects, likely top ones like Cam Collier, Edwin Arroyo, Chase Petty, or another top prospect or two, to the Astros.

In exchange, the Astros could send Alvarez to the Reds.

Why It's Unrealistic

President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall takes questions during an event to introduce the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But still, it's unrealistic.

"The Reds are another historically cheap franchise, so it's doubtful that any trade could be made here that doesn't involve them offloading salary. And yes, that basically means Ke'Bryan Hayes," Rymer wrote. "The Reds otherwise only have two top-100 prospects, which hints at the real problem. If the Astros were to balk at what's in Cincinnati's farm system, there might not be many workarounds available."

The Reds don't typically take big swings like this.

Pulling off a three-team trade would be very difficult in the first place. There's almost no way the Reds could get a deal done without making it a three-team trade. The prospect value plus the salary of Alvarez on the Reds' books wouldn't fit.

Still, general managers are typically incredibly smart people. I wouldn't be surprised if they checked on Alvarez's availability and price. But that might be as far as the talks go.

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