28-year old righty swinging outfielder Jonny Gomes had a good spring but the Reds still sent him to the minors to start the year. Instead of feeling bad for himself Gomes was focused to get back to the big leagues and that earned him a promotion. He’s never looked back taking advantage of his opportunity in Cincy. Gomes has played in 75 games for the Reds this season and he is 57 for 203 (.281 avg, .919 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 16 homers and 40 RBIs despite whiffing 69 times. Coming into this season Gomes had played in 415 games in his major league career going 297 for 1,264 (.235 avg, .784 OPS) with 186 runs scored, 66 homers, 184 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if the Reds start giving Gomes more playing time as he has been one of the best hitters on the team this season.

The Reds have signed 33-year old righty swinging outfielder Lew Ford to a minor league deal. Ford has played a little bit in Japan the last couple of years. The last time he played in the majors was the 2007 season with the Twins. Ford has played in 494 games in his major league career and he is 412 for 1,514 (.272 avg, .750 OPS) with 228 runs scored, 32 homers, 172 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. The Reds might give Ford a call up in September when rosters expand.

The Reds will be without righty starting pitcher Aaron Harang for the rest of the season due to him undergoing a emergency appendectomy last week. Harang pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Reds this season and he was 6-14 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. In seven years with the Reds, Harang has pitched in 195 games (193 starts) and he has a 69-73 record with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Reds will miss Harang as he is a dependable starting pitcher.

The Reds have traded 32-year old righty swinging shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Red Sox for 23-year old 2B/SS Kris Negron. Gonzalez played in 68 games for the Reds this season and he was 51 for 243 (.210 avg, .554 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers and 26 RBIs. In his two years with the Reds, Gonzalez played in 178 games in which he was 158 for 636 (.248 avg) with 71 runs scored, 19 homers and 81 RBIs. The Reds won’t miss Gonzalez as he wasn’t playing to well for them this season. The righty swinging Negron has played in 111 games in A-ball this season and he is 109 for 410 (.266 avg, .689 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 3 homers, 34 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. The Reds did well to get a legit prospect for a player hitting .210 this season.

The Reds have traded 39-year old righty reliever David Weathers to the Brewers for either a player to be named later or cash. He pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Reds this season and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 3.32 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Weathers pitched six seasons for the Reds working in 341 games (9 starts) in which he was 22-27 with 61 saves, a 3.97 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. The Reds will miss Weathers but it was nice of them to move him to a team with a chance at making the playoffs.

UPDATE:  The Reds have decided to take the cash from the Brewers to finalize this trade.