The San Francisco Giants are desperate for a starting caliber catcher and they really like Ramon Hernandez of the Reds. With the Reds starting to fall out of contention, it would be smart for them to deal Hernandez if they can get a nice return for him. Hernandez has played in 66 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 66 for 224 (.295 avg, .846 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 11 homers and 29 RBIs. The Reds’ #3 prospect, 23-year old righty swinging catcher Devin Mesoraco is likely ready for the majors. He has played in 99 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 111 for 369 (.301 avg, .863 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 11 homers, 60 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

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 are 48-36 on the season which has them in first place in the N.L. Central, 2 games ahead of the Cardinals. The Reds really only have one weakness and they need to fix it this month. They will likely be on the hunt for righty relief pitchers. Jason Frasor, Kyle Farnsworth, Kerry Wood, Brad Ziegler, Michael Wuertz, David Aardsma, Brian Sanches, Carlos Villanueva, Brandon Lyon, Octavio Dotel, D.J. Carrasco and Chad Qualls. The Reds will have a good chance to hold off the Cardinals if they can get their hands on two of the pitchers named above.

The Reds are set from the left side of the bullpen but if they truly want to compete with the Cardinals in the N.L. Central they are going to need to address the right side of the pen in the trade market, and sooner rather than later. The Reds have the firepower to make smaller deals or bigger ones depending on the quality they get back. If the Reds want to go big they will call the Blue Jays (Jason Frasor), the Astros (Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom) of the Indians (Kerry Wood). If they want to aim smaller they place a call to teams like the White Sox (Tony Pena), the Royals (Kyle Farnsworth), the Pirates (Brendan Donnelly and D.J. Carrasco) or the Padres (Edwin Mujica, Adam Russell or Ryan Webb). Personally I would try to deal with the Astros or the Padres. I think the Padres would give the Reds Mujica, Russell and Webb for Chris Heisey and Chris Dickerson. Despite Heisey’s nice upside this is a deal the Reds would likely have to make as the bullpen would be in much better shape. The Astros would have to send a lot of cash in this deal but they would take Juan Francisco, Dickerson, Micah Owings and Paul Janish for both Lindstrom and Lyon which would give the Reds a powerful pen and a very deep one. The Indians would jump at the chance to deal Kerry Wood and cash to the Reds for Chris Dickerson and Paul Janish or Micah Owings. The Blue Jays would likely require either Juan Francisco or Chris Heisey straight up for Jason Frasor and I’m not so sure he’s worth that price. The cheaper alternatives would come cheaply as the Reds would likely take Chris Dickerson or Micah Owings for both Brendan Donnelly and D.J. Carrasco. Micah Owings would likely be the price for Kyle Farnsworth of the Royals while Tony Pena of the White Sox would require Chris Dickerson and Micah Owings. The Reds have the team to make a legit run at the playoffs so they need to pull the trigger on a trade for bullpen help soon.

The Pirates are looking to unload more salaries this winter and the Reds are looking for a catcher who can hit. So Ryan Doumit of the Pirates would likely be in play if the Reds gave them a call. The Pirates need infielders so I would propose an offer of Adam Rosales, Danny Richar and Drew Sutton to the Pirates for Ryan Doumit and shortstop Brian Bixler. Bixler would then compete with Paul Janish at shortstop unless the Reds wound bring in someone better. But, Doumit would go right into the starting lineup giving the Reds another power bat behind Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto.