The Reds have traded injured Chris Denorfia to the Oakland A’s for 2 players to be named later and cash.  Denorfia played in 67 games in 2 seasons for the Reds and he played in 67 games.  In those 67 games, Denorfia hit .278 (.740 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs.  The emergence of Josh Hamilton made this move an easy one to make for the Reds.

Rule 5 Draft Pick Josh Hamilton has been given new life in Cincinnati and he’s running with it.  Gone are the drugs of the past that have haunted Hamilton in his whole career with the Devil Rays.  In 17 games so far this season, Hamilton is 15 for 51 (.294 avg, 1.106 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 homers and 12 RBIs.  The more he hits, the more he will play for the Reds this season.

In the National League it’s imperative that everyone can hit a little bit on the roster.  With that in mind, the Reds are disappointed in the start of the 2007 that Juan Castro is having.  In 13 games this season he’s only 2 for 21 (.095 avg, .317 OPS) with only 1 run scored and 1 RBI.  He also has whiffed 7 times already which is way to many for his style of hitter.  If he doesn’t get his bat going soon his butt will likely be nailed to the bench.

The Reds were only 2-5 last week and they were outscored their opponents 44-31.  The Reds need to get their offense going as they are wasting pretty good pitching so far this season.  The Reds are currently in 4th place in the National League Central, 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

Encarnacion has played in 14 games so far this season and he’s only hitting .182 with a .499 OPS.  He’s only 8 of 44 with 4 runs scored and 5 RBIs.  The Reds need Encarnacion to hit or they can’t play him because he’s probably the worst defensive thirdbaseman in the major leagues.