Jan 12 (newsonjapan.com) - Could the Cincinnati Reds possibly trade left fielder Shogo Akiyama?
If they do, who could potentially have the money to take up his contract? There are a few teams out there that may be interested and furthermore, may actually have the money to take him on. While Akiyama definitely has potential, he did have a rather lackluster start to his first couple of seasons in the Major Leagues. Between Covid and injuries, Akiyama has yet to show his real potential. Before Akiyama’s arrival, the Reds were the only team that was still left without a Japanese player! Akiyama was supposed to come in and not only strengthen up the outfield, but also the batting lineup! While things may have got off to a rough start for him in the MLB, there is still hope and there are a few teams that may be willing to give him a shot!
Cincinnati Reds 2020-21 Season.
It still amazes me just how many games professional baseball players play in a season! The Reds finished their 2021-22 season 83-79, putting them just over the .500 mark. In their last 10 games, the Reds went 5-5 and finished the season 12 games behind the Brewers in the NL-Central division. While I am sure they had hoped to do better and see a bit more from Akiyama, don’t expect them to take things laying down. There are still 6-7 weeks before MLB’s spring training starts and we can expect the Reds to try and make a couple more trades before getting things underway.
Don’t Count Them Out Just Yet.
While the odds may not be in their favor, they could be a lot worse! Akiyama could start to shine, or the Reds could trade him and get someone new in that adds a little something to the team. Currently, the Reds are sitting at +300 to the NL-Central division champions for the 2022-23 season. Considering the Brewers are only sitting at +175, the odds aren’t looking bad for the Reds, not bad at all. When it comes to the Reds winning the whole National League, they are currently sitting at +2500 which sees them as the 9th current favorite to win. At the moment it is looking like the Reds are in for another middle-of-the-road season and will probably finish somewhere around the .500 mark as they did last season. Currently, in the NL, the Dodgers are favored to win it at all but I wouldn’t take that to heart too much as they are also favored to win the World Series as well!
All of the above odds are thanks to Caesars Sportsbook. If you want to find out more and see all the team’s odds, you can visit Caesars Sportsbook to know the betting lines for the upcoming MLB events. It’s always worth having a look at betting lines, if you don’t bet yourself as they are a great way to see who is favored to win what! While we can only hope that the Red’s odds improve in the few weeks leading up to Spring Training, they are going to have to make some major changes to see this happen. That, or Akiyama is going to have to prove to them why they signed him in the first place and show he is worthy of sticking around.
Using sites like Caesars Sportsbook have a lot of benefits. As we have seen, Caesars Sportsbook is already placing odds on the upcoming MLB season and spring training hasn’t even started! Alongside its MLB betting lines, you can check out odds on almost any sport out there so you can always stay in the know with who is favored to win said sporting event.
Looking To The Future.
There are a few different trade scenarios for Shogo Akiyama. However, due to the $8M he still has on his contract, the Reds are going to need to sweeten the deal to get rid of him. While it’s hard to blame Shogo’s slow start in the league on him 100%, it still needs to be taken into consideration by other teams when showing interest in him. It seems as if the Reds may have to look into adding another player into and trade talks, possibly one from their Minor League team if they want to be taken seriously. We could see interest in Akiyama from teams like the Athletics, or even the Nationals. Both teams seem to be in the middle of a bit of a rebuild so if they can grab Akiyama and 1 or 2 other half-decent players, even if for their farm teams, it could work out.
Nothing is yet set in stone but there are plenty of options that could become available if the Reds do want to trade Shogo Akiyama. One thing that we need to see is Akiyama reaches his true potential, no matter what team he is playing for. If he can put the past two seasons behind him, Akiyama could be the player the Reds had hoped he would be. However, is it too late for this? Is anyone going to be willing to take a chance on him? With spring training just around the corner, I suspect we will find out in the next couple of weeks just what interest there is surrounding Shogo Akiyama and what his fate in the MLB will be.
Will The Reds Be Willing To Part With Other Players?
Shogo has potential and on the right team, he could potentially shine and be worth that $8M he still has over his head for the last year of his contract. While the Reds likely won’t want to offer up any of their upcoming minor league players, if it is the deciding factor between trading Akiyama or not, they may just have to bite the bullet and do it. The other deciding factor that will play a part in any trade is his age. Is Akiyama a bit too old to risk $8M and a spot on a new team? It’s hard to tell just what will happen at the moment but hopefully, Akiyama finds his feet in the MLB and fast!
