| The first big trade of the month occurred on July 13th. The Cincinnati Reds traded OF Austin Kearns, SS Felipe Lopez and RHP Ryan Wagner to the Nationals for RHP Gary Majewski, RHP Bill Bray, SS Royce Clayton, IF Brendan Harris and RHP Daryl Thompson. Despite the fact that the deal was 5 players for 3 players this was actually a pretty fair deal. Kearns has great potential and the Nats needed a legit outfielder. Lopez is not a good fielder and Clayton is not a great bat. Essentially they complement each other and are a wash. Wagner may not be worth Majewski, Bray, Harris and Thompson but the great potential of Kearns off sets that. In the end both teams improved the areas they needed help in. The Reds got bullpen help and a veteran presence in Clayton. The Nats got a good offensive SS and a potentially great outfielder in Kearns. |
