Matt’s Take: Reds are in first place; Bengals make blockbuster trade

By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist

So much to write about here and not enough room. Let’s get right into it, shall we?  

The Queen City is flooded with awesome sports news, as the Reds keep finding ways to win, and the Bengals made a fantastic trade (we shall dive in shortly).  

Terry Francona has the guys committed to his style of baseball, and the team is having fun despite the lack of production from many at the plate. Cincinnati remains in first place, but with every team in the Central having a winning record, the winning has to continue for Cincinnati, as this is the best division by record in baseball. At 14-8, this is the best start for Cincinnati since 2006. That team went on to finish below .500 and finished third in the division. (But who cares about that?)  

Positives

The Reds are undefeated in one-run games, as well as extra inning games. Clutch gene activated. Tj Friedl and Rece Hinds delivered in the final game to sweep in Minnesota and should boost their confidence moving forward, as they both have heavily struggled.  

Cincinnati holds the best road record in Major League Baseball. Sal Stewart leads Shohei Ohtani thus far in every major statistical category.  

The Reds 3-4-5 batters rank 1st in SLG, 2nd in OBP, 3rd in BA, and 1st in HR in all of baseball. Reds bullpen holds the MLB best ERA at 2.31; 8-2, 20 holds, and 13 saves. Pagan leads the way with 6 saves and many others have 1 save under their belt. 

Tony Santillan continues to deliver time and time again. He has 1 save, hasn’t given up a single run, 12 Ks, and 10 innings pitched. A workhorse!

JJ Bleday is absolutely crushing it in AAA. He is hitting .338 with 5 HRs with Louisville and will likely find himself on this Major League roster sooner rather than later.  

Negatives

Emilio Pagan needs a strikeout pitch and fails to put batters away in the 9th. He hasn’t really had many clean innings and might not be the best choice going forward to close games.  

Will Benson, Matt McLain, Tyler Stephenson, TJ Friedl, Noelvi Marte, Rece Hinds, and Ke’Bryan Hayes are all collectively hitting below .200. If this continues, the Reds cannot maintain the pace they are currently on.  

Andrew Abbott isn’t looking like the Andrew Abbott that was an All-Star in 2025.  

Blockbuster trade for the Bengals

If you’re not happy about this trade, I think you might just be a “glass half empty” guy, as this trade shows that ownership is all-in on winning right now. Dexter Lawrence II was traded to Cincinnati for the Bengals 1st round pick (#10 overall).  

I think this trade benefits both teams currently and Dexter even got his additional 1-year contract extension in which he hoped for. While Bengals fans were hopeful to land a stud at #10, those who could make an instant impact were likely to be gone before the Bengals got around to choosing. Proven players before the draft – always.  

Since 2022, Dexter Lawrence has 108 pressures at nose tackle. Second in this category is Vita Vea at just 32. Sheesh!

Dexter is only 28 years old. He has been double teamed at the highest rate in the NFL. Against one of the best defenses in football last season (Seahawks), Dexter had 4 tackles, 5 pressures, and 3 sacks.
 
Cincinnati turned Trey Hendrickson into Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, Dexter Lawrence, and Jonathan Allen. I’ll take that.  

Cincinnati still needs a veteran linebacker. Carter and Knight Jr. are not going to win this team a Super Bowl. 
 
At pick #10, Arvell Reese, David Bailey, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, and Bain Jr. are all likely to be gone. Making this trade was a must.
  
Cincinnati now has the 41st pick, 72nd pick, 110th pick, 189th pick, 199th pick, and 221st pick. Nailing those early picks is crucial.  

The window for this team to win a Super Bowl ring is back open, but quite small as Burrow isn’t getting any younger. There is still time to right this injury ship and defensive breakdown ship.