Reds pundits make feelings known about Josh Naylor, Joc Pederson passed on by Cincinnati 

The Cincinnati Reds have been linked with several players through rumors and some pundits are glad that they passed on trading for Josh Naylor and Joc Pederson this winter. Speaking on the Cincinnati roster's offseason needs, pundits Jeff Carr and Steven Offenbaker discussed why both players were not a good fit for the team on the "Locked On Reds" podcast:

"There were rumors linking the Reds with the Guardians about about talking about Joash Naylor and outfielder Lane Thomas... the rservations I had with it is that they were looking for their biggest offseason need in not one but two players. And that doesn't work. When you get two players to do one job, you really don't have any solution whatsoever," Carr said.

"Another move I'm gald they didn't make, there was clamoring to go get Joc Pederson. He is not that young guy anymore. The Reds need to go out and get a right-handed, power hitting outfielder that you can stick into one of the carners and have him play out there everyday... this was not the solution to the problem that the Reds had.

"It completely eliminates all the flexibility that they have to move some guys around in the lineup, because he could only play DH," Offenbaker added.

Josh Naylor has grown into a capable hitter with the Cleveland Guardinas in recent years and made his first All-Star appearance this year. Following rumors that the Cincinnati front office was interested in him, Naylor was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks this week.

Joc Pederson is an experienced power hitter with two World Series titles under his belt. He is coming off a decent season as the Diamondbacks' designated hitter but doesn't have the defensive abilities that Cincinnati needs. The Texas Rangers have reportedly agreed on a contract with the 32-year-old this week.

Reds' president of baseball operations explains why they traded for Yankees catcher Jose Trevino

Cincinnati traded Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson to the New York Yankees in exchange for Jose Trevino this week. President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall recently spoke to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com on the rationale behind the move:

“It adds another element of versatility to this club that we think can really upgrade the pitching staff... It was a tough thing to do, but we felt with the scarcity in the catching market, this is something we had to make."

Trevino is well known for his defensive abilities and is set to take on a backup catcher role in the Cincinnati roster next season.