Much like the Oakland Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds are in serious, full-throttle rebuilding mode, even if they won’t admit it.
They made yet another move on Wednesday afternoon, getting rid of fan favorite Amir Garrett.
“We have acquired LHP Amir Garrett from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for LHP Mike Minor and cash considerations,” the Kansas City Royals, which is the team that acquired Garrett, said via Twitter.
We have acquired LHP Amir Garrett from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for LHP Mike Minor and cash considerations.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 16, 2022
It’s unclear how much “cash considerations” are going to Cincinnati, because Minor, who is 34 and had a 5.05 ERA last year, is scheduled to make $10 million in 2022, while Garrett’s projected salary in arbitration is $2.2 million.
Still, at this point, the Royals probably have better use for Garrett than Minor.
Garrett, 29, is a left-handed reliever known for his fiery competitiveness, one that often leads to problems with opposing batters.
He didn’t have the best season in 2021, as he posted a 6.04 ERA in 47.2 innings.
The Reds Traded One Of Their Best Relievers
He did, however, have a much more decent 4.89 Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, as he suffered from the Reds’ lousy infield defense before the Kyle Farmer-at-shortstop days.
Garrett has several things going for him in Kansas City: he has four full seasons as a reliever, and the only truly bad one was 2021.
In the other three, his ERA finishes have been 4.29, 3.21, and 2.45.
And last year, even with his struggles, he had rock-solid numbers in the bat-missing department (28.4% strikeout rate) and getting hitters to keep the ball in the ground (50.8% groundball rate).
All things considered, the Royals are gaining a solid left-handed reliever for their up-and-coming roster for the next two seasons, while the Reds are getting rid of one of their best relievers in another teardown-like move.
