Facing a potential $6 million decision with infielder Kyle Farmer, who is eligible for arbitration this offseason, the Cincinnati Reds traded him to the Minnesota Twins for minor league pitcher Casey Legumina on Friday.
It’s another popular player who departs the Reds, a team coming off a 100-loss season and still leaning heavily into a rebuild. The deal comes on the same day as MLB's deadline to guarantee contracts for the 2023 season.
From the Reds’ perspective, the trade clears some salary for other potential additions and frees up an infield spot with some of their top shortstop prospects pushing for playing time in the major leagues. Jose Barrero and Spencer Steer finished the 2022 season in the big leagues while Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain ended the year in Double-A.
The Reds are close to acquiring infielder Kevin Newman from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade, a source confirmed to The Enquirer. Newman hit .274 with two homers, 18 doubles and 24 RBI in 78 games last season. Newman could be a partial replacement for Farmer because he plays shortstop and hit well against lefties last season. The 29-year-old is eligible for arbitration and projected to command a salary around $3 million, according to MLB Trade Rumors’ projections.
Along with the trades, the Reds did not tender contracts to reliever Daniel Duarte or outfielder Allan Cerda, which removed them from the 40-man roster. Duarte made the 2022 Opening Day roster, but made only three appearances before he was sidelined by an elbow injury. Cerda split the season in High-A and Double-A.
The 32-year-old Farmer became a clubhouse leader for the Reds after they had several trade departures over the last calendar year. He was initially considered the throw-in piece in a seven-player trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers that netted Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Matt Kemp, but he had the biggest impact with the Reds and spent four seasons in the organization.
"Heart and soul of our team," Reds second baseman Jonathan India tweeted, "love you bro."
Farmer transformed from a utility player/third catcher on the roster to a starting shortstop, a position he always thought he could play but few coaches gave him the opportunity. He shored up the position when the Reds made a push for the wild-card spot in 2021 and remained the starting shortstop throughout the first four months this past season.
During the 2022 season, Farmer hit .255 with 14 homers, 25 doubles and 78 RBI in 145 games. He was the Reds’ only player who played more than 110 games.
Farmer, who had a $3.155 million salary last year, is under team control through the 2024 season. He was one of the league’s better hitters against left-handed pitching last season, batting .309 against them last year with a .948 OPS compared to a .235 batting average and .611 versus righties.
The Reds already parted with four arbitration-eligible players this offseason. Aristides Aquino, Jeff Hoffman and Derek Law were designated for assignment earlier this week when the club added six prospects to the 40-man roster. Backup catcher Aramis Garcia was designated for assignment last month and is a free agent.
The Twins added Legumina, a right-hander, to their 40-man roster earlier this week. He spent most of last season at Double-A with a 4.93 ERA in 73 innings while striking out 76 and walking 32. After shifting from starter to reliever in mid-August, he had a 2.55 ERA and three saves with 26 strikeouts and six walks in 17 2/3 innings.
Legumina, 25, was an eighth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He's known for a sharp slider and a mid-90s fastball.
It's the third trade between the Reds and Twins since March. The Reds dealt pitchers Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle to Minnesota for prospects.
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