26-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Heisey is likely to get a nice bump in P.T. due to the Jonny Gomes deal. Heisey has played in 91 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 49 for 198 (.247 avg, .767 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 12 homers, 36 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 187 games in his first two years with the Reds and he is 100 for 399 (.251 avg, .762 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 20 homers, 57 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. His one weakness is that he whiffs a lot as he has 100 strikeouts so far in his career, but that’s nitpicking considering the power he has.

The Reds have called up 21-year old LF/1B Yonder Alonso. Alonso was the Reds’ #4 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Alonso has played in 91 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 106 for 358 (.296 avg, .860 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 12 homers, 56 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 313 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 345 for 1,179 (.293 avg, .837 OPS) with 149 runs scored, 36 homers, 179 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Alonso will share time in LF with Chris Heisey and he will also give Joey Votto a day off when he needs one.

The Reds have dealt 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Jonny Gomes to the Nationals for 26-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Bill Rhinehart and 22-year old lefty reliever Chris Manno. Gomes played in 77 games for the Reds this year and he was 46 for 218 (.211 avg, .735 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 11 homers, 31 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Gomes played in 323 games in his three years with the Reds and he was 257 for 1,010 (.254 avg, .787 OPS) with 146 runs scored, 49 homers, 168 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Chris Heisey and Yonder Alonso will likely play a lot in LF for the Reds going forward. Gomes was a solid player but the Reds didn’t really need him anymore.

Bill Rhinehart played in 89 games in AA-ball for the Nationals this year and he was 78 for 276 (.283 avg, .963 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 21 homers, 59 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 529 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 475 for 1,817 (.261 avg, .789 OPS) with 247 runs scored, 73 homers, 310 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Chris Manno has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in A-ball this year and he is 1-3 with 12 saves, a 1.04 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. He has only given up 20 hits while whiffing 69 batters in his first 43 1/3 innings as he has been amazing this year. Manno has now pitched in 46 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 2-4 with 13 saves, a 1.47 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He has only allowed 32 hits in his first 61 1/3 innings with a stunning 98 whiffs.

Manno and Rhinehart are not considered top prospects, but they have had impressive production in there minor league careers so far. This was a nice haul for a player like Jonny Gomes.

The Reds are still in range in the N.L. Central but they need to make some improvements and they have the needed prospects to achieve their goal. The Reds are looking for a leadoff type hitter to play LF. B.J. Upton, Chone Figgins, Melky Cabrera, Coco Crisp and maybe even David DeJesus make sense. The Reds also need a good starting pitcher and that’s gonna cost them. James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie, Edwin Jackson, Doug Fister, Hiroki Kuroda, Brett Myers, Ted Lilly, Wandy Rodriguez and Jason Vargas all make sense. Shields might cost too much prospect wise but the other guys on this list are fair game. If the Reds pull off a couple of nice deals this week, they will be right in the mix for the playoffs the rest of this year.

The Reds have placed rookie shortstop Zack Cozart on the 15-day disabled list due to a hyperextended left elbow. Cozart has played in 11 games so far this year for the Reds and he is 12 for 37 (.324 avg, .811 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. This is a bad break for the Reds as Cozart was looking good so far. The Reds have called up Paul Janish to share SS until Cozart is ready to return to action. Janish has played in 68 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 52 for 229 (.227 avg, .530 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 0 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Edgar Renteria has played in 55 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 37 for 158 (.234 avg, .590 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Reds hople that Cozart gets healthy soon.

UPDATE: (8/11/2011) - Zack Cozart is going to have season ending Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.