Reds trade Zack Cozart
It’s been a stellar season for Cozart. The Cincinnati Reds shortstop entered Monday’s action with 9 home runs, 33 RBI and a .322/.403/.555 slash line. He’ll start the All-Star Game for the senior circuit — something no Cincinnati shortstop has done since a Hall of Famer did it a long time ago.
Zack Cozart: can be 1st Reds player to start at SS in All-Star Game since Hall of Famer Barry Larkin in 2000 pic.twitter.com/8RvxUxGjOk
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 2, 2017
And unless Joey Votto wants to be exposed as a liar, Cozart will get a donkey for reaching the Midsummer Classic.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that despite playing in a mediocre division, the Reds are well out of postseason contention. Still, we expect Cozart to be in the playoffs in 2017 — just not with his Cincinnati teammates.
Contenders like the Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins could use an upgrade at the shortstop position. Others may be set at shortstop but could use help elsewhere in the infield. It wouldn’t be unprecedented for a team to turn a good fielding shortstop into a second or third baseman.
Now, this idea seems to be somewhat negated by the fact that the Reds want to sign Cozart to an extension. According to President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams (per Zach Buchanan, the Cincinnati Enquirer), the interest is “mutual.”
But the better play for the Reds — who are still very much rebuilding — would be to trade Cozart and load up on young talent. If there’s truly mutual interest then Cincinnati would have an above average chance of bringing Cozart back in 2018 as as a free agent. That’s precisely what the Yankees did with Aroldis Chapman in 2017 and it’s worked like a charm.
So, we’re not going to predict that Cozart’s last game with the Reds will be in 2017. But we do think he’ll finish the year with another team.