Cincinnati Reds Receiving 'Plenty of Interest' in Spencer Steer Before Deadline

Cincinnati Reds utility man Spencer Steer is drawing trade interest from around the league as the August 3 deadline gets closer.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Reds have received "plenty of interest" in Steer, who has quietly put together a solid year while Cincinnati has stumbled to a 43-52 record and last place in the NL Central.

The 28-year-old is hitting .247 this season with 14 home runs, putting him on pace for a fourth straight year with 20 or more homers.

He has played first base, third base, left field and right field for the Reds in 2026, which is a big part of what makes him so appealing to contenders.

Steer is not a rental.

He is under club control through the 2028 season and won't reach free agency until 2029, which makes him even more attractive to buyers.

He signed a one-year, $4 million deal with Cincinnati in January to avoid arbitration, so the cost is low for whatever team acquires him.

That combination of affordable salary, positional flexibility, and multiple years of control is exactly what contending teams look for at the deadline.

Former Reds general manager Jim Bowden suggested in The Athletic that Steer is an ideal fit for the Toronto Blue Jays, and there has been reported interest from the Seattle Mariners as well.

Steer is a player who won't headline SportsCenter, but he can change a roster's depth chart overnight.

That's where it gets tricky.

The Reds are 15.5 games behind the first-place Brewers and sitting eight games out of a Wild Card spot, so selling is the likely path forward.

But Steer is exactly the type of player who is hard to replace.

He has hit 20-plus home runs in each of the last three seasons and has been one of Cincinnati's more reliable bats during stretches where the lineup has gone cold.

Trading him could bring back a meaningful prospect haul and clear a path for minor league talent like Hector Rodriguez, who has been raking at Triple-A Louisville.

But it would also remove a middle-of-the-order bat from a team that already struggles to score runs, and it would be a tough pill for a fanbase that has watched the Reds cycle through this pattern for years.

Cincinnati's front office has some real thinking to do before August 3.

Steer is not an expiring contract or a reliever with a couple months left.

He is a productive everyday player with years of control, and whatever they decide will say a lot about where this organization sees itself heading.