Jay Bruce

The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams reportedly interested in acquiring Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce before the August 1 trade deadline. 

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There are two guys in the NL Central having great bounce-back seasons but whose efforts are being wasted on clubs that are about as bad as everyone expected them to be.

It sounds like these two guys would be better off in greener pastures. And before long, the summer trade market could make it happen.

As the weather heats up so should the trade rumors surrounding Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, a potential unrestricted free agent this winter.

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The Cincinnati Reds are in full rebuilding mode and are selling off any veteran piece they can. Outfielder Jay Bruce may be the next to go.

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The Cincinnati Reds unsuccessfully shopped Jay Bruce at the 2015 MLB trade deadline, but the team appears more motivated to move the right fielder with the offseason officially underway. 

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The addition of a second wild-card slot has had a huge effect on the MLB trade deadline the past three seasons.  With so many teams on the fringes of contention, teams that have actually chosen to auction off assets have enjoyed a thriving seller's market due to the scarcity of real impact.

Even if the Cincinnati Reds don't get back into contention, they are going to be a team that has a big impact on the pennant race.

Why? Because the team has plenty of attractive trade chips.

The proverbial window appears to be closing on this Reds squad. Some of the key players are entering the final year(s) of their contracts, which will force the club to make some tough decisions. Keeping those players would certainly help the club stay relevant, but trading them would help the organization in the future.

It's what's on the agenda when a team is eight games under .500 and 11.5 games out of first before June. Because a Reds rebuild seems all but certain with ace Johnny Cueto playing in the final year of his contract, it's time to assess what's worked and what's in store.

Based on your general disposition, you see the Cincinnati Reds in one of the two following lights: They're a team at or floating around .500 with baseball's worst OBP and worst bullpen ERA, or they're a team at .500 and tied for the remaining wild-card slot.

History suggests Reds owner Bob Castellini will see the latter. He's a competitive soul, so long as the Reds can sniff a playoff spot, don't expect them to sell.

The Cincinnati Reds are getting no love.

In the most recent season outlook, Grantland writer Ben Lindbergh's NLC Preview uses a lot of data and makes mathematical projections, and not even the numbers are improving this team's outlook. In case you haven't got around to it, here's an excerpt on why we can expect the Reds to suck in 2015: