25-year old righty swinging outfielder Drew Stubbs is having a solid year for the Reds. He has played in 95 games for the Reds this year and he is 78 of 329 (.237 avg, .712 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 13 homers, 49 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Stubbs does still have some holes in his swing that he needs to correct as he has whiffed 102 times already this year. Still he is a solid defensive CF who has speed and power and that combo is very hard to find. He has a very bright future for the Reds.

35-year old switch hitting outfielder Gary Matthews has opted out of his minor league deal with the Reds. Matthews played in 23 games in AAA-ball for the Reds and he was 32 of 101 (.317 avg, .856 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Reds didn’t have room in their outfield for Matthews but manager Dusty Baker wanted to keep him for later when rosters expand in September. Matthews will be on the hunt for a new gig now.

The Reds have signed 37-year old righty reliever Jason Isringhausen to a minor league deal. Isringhausen pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP before his injury. He has now pitched in 621 games (52 starts) in his 14 years in the majors and he is 45-50 with 293 saves, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Reds will send Isringhausen to the minors to knock some rust off before calling him up. This is a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Reds as Isringhausen has always been solid when healthy.

The Reds one big hole is the righty side of the bullpen. The Reds made a big deal with the Blue Jays last July and I would go back to the well again in 2010. I really like Jason Frasor of the Blue Jays. I think he would make a fine set up man for Francisco Cordero. He wouldn’t come cheap as the Reds would likely want a prospect like outfielder Chris Heisey. I would make that deal if I were running the Reds because they are in a dog fight with the Cardinals and they can’t afford to be blowing many leads the rest of the way. It sounds like a steep price as Heisey is a good prospect but that’s the kind of price you pay to contend these days.

The Reds have moved 22-year old lefty pitcher Aroldis Chapman to the bullpen to get him ready for a callup later this year. Chapman’s future is likely still as a starting pitcher but he can help the Reds more in the pen this year. Chapman has pitched in 21 games (13 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 6-6 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He has only given up 67 hits in 76 1/3 innings this year and he has whiffed 94 batters showing just how nasty his stuff is. But, he still has some things to work on as he has walked 47 batters this season. Until he tightens up his control the Reds can’t call him up.