Cincinnati Reds Acquire Tanner Roark for Tanner Rainey

The Reds swapped Tanners with Washington, acquiring starting pitcher Tanner Roark in exchange for 25-year old reliever Tanner Rainey.

Cincinnati finally made a move after saying they would be increasing their payroll and be aggressive in free agency. It turns out the first move came through a trade with the Washington Nationals.

The move appears to be more of a salary dump than an effort to better the team. While Rainey does have some promise out of the pen, posting a 2.65 earned run average in 51 innings in 2018, his only seven innings in the major leagues he allowed 19 runs on 13 hits and 12 walks.

The Return

Roark, an established six-year veteran, has not had the most promising stats since his 2016 campaign, where he posted a 2.83 ERA in 210 innings, but he brings much more to the table.

(Photo Courtesy: Sporting News)

For starters, he is durable, throwing for over 180 innings in four of his last five seasons. He has also shown flashes of a potential star in the league. When pitchers come to Cincinnati, they need to be able to keep the ball on the ground, yet another facet of his game that will benefit the Reds.

While it may not be Patrick Corbin, who ironically signed with the Nationals, or Dallas Keuchel, Roark instantly improves the rotation. Keuchel is still on the market and still in play for the Reds. Sonny Gray and Marcus Stroman are two other names that may end up donning a Reds uniform next season.

The biggest takeaway from the trade is that the Reds were not just getting fans hopes up when they said they were serious about 2019. Turning Rainey with little and awful MLB experience for a player with a career 3.59 ERA is an absolute steal. Great move Nick Krall.

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