The Reds Report: July 31

by:Eric Roseberry07/31/16
[caption id="attachment_203784" align="alignnone" width="600"]Jay Bruce 2 USA TODAY Sports Images[/caption] This edition of the Reds Report was completed prior to the conclusion of Sunday night's game. Who is this team and what have they done with the Reds? Since the All-Star break Cincinnati is 10-5, and they might just be playing their best baseball of the season. If they hang on to beat the Padres tonight they will have won five straight series. It might not matter much when October rolls around, but it's been a nice change of pace. Let's get to this week's Reds Report. 1. Easily the biggest topic of conversation in Cincinnati this week was the upcoming trade deadline. How would the Reds handle it? Would they finally end up trading Jay Bruce? Could a team entice them to part ways with Zack Cozart? Might the Reds take advantage of Dan Straily's hot start and flip him for a younger prospect? The possibilities seemed endless. Well...as of 6:37 PM on Sunday, the Reds have done nothing. There are still plenty of rumors swirling regarding a potential Jay Bruce trade, and the team has until 4:00 PM tomorrow to pull one off. Here was one of the most recent updates on where the situation stands. Wick Terrell of Red Reporter also broke down some of the latest rumors as of Sunday. 2. While a trade hasn't been made yet, Sunday was important for the Reds because it featured the return of Homer Bailey to the starting rotation. Bailey underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2015, and today was his first appearance in a Reds uniform since he was shut down. Cincinnati's rebuild will get a major shot in the arm if Bailey is able to return to form as a top of the rotation arm. 3. In one of the most surprising stats you'll read all season, the Reds bullpen currently has the 4th best ERA in baseball for the month of July. A big reason for this recent success has been the production of Raisel Iglesias. Iglesias, who was the Reds Opening Day starter, injured his shoulder earlier in the season. Cincinnati moved him to the bullpen to help decrease his work load. Thus far, the move has been a huge success. In 23 innings of relief work Iglesias has an 0.38 ERA, and he's holding opposing hitters to a .101 batting average. On Sunday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com broke down Iglesias' "electric stuff." 4. One of the most entertaining aspects of this season for Reds fans has been the Joey Votto "heel turn." Earlier this season he taunted opposing fans by acting like he'd toss them a foul ball. He kept the ball for himself. Later in the season, he mercilessly stomped a paper airplane that found it's way onto the field On Wednesday, "bad" Joey Votto made his return. 5. Speaking of Joey Votto, the man is absolutely raking over the past month. His early season struggles are a thing of the past, and he has reminded fans why the team was willing to give him a 12 year, $251 million contract back in 2012. Zach Buchanan took a look at Votto's numbers and recent success at the plate. 6. It was a special day on Sunday for Reds rookie Jose Peraza. Peraza was acquired by the Reds last season in the trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox. Since being called up to the majors he (disappointingly) hasn't received much playing time. However, he took advantage of his start on Sunday and mashed his first major league home run. #FreePeraza 7. For those of you interested in the future of the Reds, MLB Pipeline updated their team prospect rankings this week. Nick Senzel, Cincinnati's first round pick from this season, checked in at #1. You can get the complete list here. Mitchell Clark at Red Reporter wrote up his own mid-season prospect rankings. 8. Ah, summer camp. Every kid always enjoyed getting a few days away from home to swim, make crafts, and meet new friends. While at camp, maybe you'd even get the opportunity to check out a day baseball game. CBS Sports had the story of "Camp Day" that took place in Daytona Beach last Wednesday. The home team, Cincinnati's Class-A affiliate, was taking on Jupiter. The campers got to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ballpark, and the sight of a group of grown men attempting to beat the ever loving crap out of each other. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waRO33mp6Q0 The Reds open this week against the Cardinals at home on Tuesday. Over the weekend they'll head to Pittsburgh for a three game set against the Pirates. You can follow the Reds, and Eric's writing, all season long at Red Reporter.

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