Cincinnati Reds Minor Moves: Ryan Rowland-Smith, Jake Elmore, Nick Christiani
By Adam Hughes
Mar 5, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics infielder Jake Elmore (15) hits an infield single in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
The Cincinnati Reds were non-existent at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, even though Riverfront Ball and many other sites were full of great ideas for general manager Walt Jocketty leading up to the big day — we whiffed across the board. Nevertheless, the season isn’t quite, and the Reds have been busy in the first two days of August. On the way out were Ryan Rowland-Smith and Nick Christiani, while Jake Elmore was brought into the fold.
Elmore was claimed off waivers from the Oakland A’s according to Jeff Todd of MLBTradeRumors.com, and presumably has the chance to see some Major League action given the Reds’ lack of depth and production in the infield. In a couple of brief ML stints over two seasons, Elmore has played all four infield positions and left field, versatility that would be welcome on the Riverfront. Righty Christiani has struggled in Cincinnati and was likely designated to clear room for Elmore.
Todd also reports that the Reds and Rowland-Smith have parted ways, either through release or player option (Todd’s sources disagree on this one). After a four-year hiatus, Rowland-Smith made his way back to the Majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks this season but was subsequently released before stints with the Toronto Blue Jays and now the Reds.
These types of moves, of course, don’t move the baseball Ricther needle much at all, but at least they give Reds’ fans something to think about. What if Elmore got inexplicably hot and turned into Ben Zobrist for a couple of months? Could the Reds do something crazy like signing Miguel Tejada or Alfonso Soriano? How about trading Jocketty, straight up, for Ruben Amaro, Jr.? How bad could any of those be?
The aftermath of a squandered traded deadline can be a strange, melancholy place, like the beach after Labor Day. These minor moves and wild spitballing at least give us a means to focus on our Reds as the rest of the 2014 season blurs by.