DENVER – Now that the ink has dried on Chase Burns’ new $105 million contract to become the face of the Cincinnati Reds’ future for the next seven years, the Reds turn their attention to the bigger business of now.
Which means the trade-deadline selloff that just got one blowout-loss closer when the crappy Colorado Rockies jumped all over Reds starter Rhett Lowder and pounded the Reds 10-3 in the middle game of their weekend series at Coors Field.
So much for all that momentum they grabbed with the series-opening win the night before. So much for all the feel-good vibes of popular teammate Burns’ record deal.
So much for any Pollyannic notion that might have lingered in the clubhouse that a team with seven pending free agents could get hot enough in two weeks – on the heels of two months of free fall – to keep the roster intact. Much less the belief in a long-shot playoff chase.
“That’s part of the business,” said veteran DH Eugenio Suárez, a pending free agent who was traded by Arizona at the deadline last season. “You’ve just got to be professional, prepare for anything. If you stay, you stay. Part of the business.”
Lowder (3-7), who had been pushed to the bullpen until Nick Lodolo got waylaid by another blister a week ago, didn’t get through the third inning in his second-shortest start of the year.
Two quick runs in the first was followed by a a four-run second that included a two-out squeeze-bunt single followed by four more singles.
When two of the first three batters in the third reached on hits, Lowder was done, eventually charged with eight runs.
Meanwhile, in more relevant happenings in this game, here’s how some of the Reds’ potential trade chips fared:
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds turn attention to trade deadline selloff after Burns pact, loss
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
