Terry Francona Gets Honest About Trade Deadline After Reds Win Over Rockies

Terry Francona has been around long enough to know what late July feels like for a team sitting under .500.

His Reds beat the Rockies 9-6 at Coors Field on Sunday to claim the series and improve to 45-53, and the win featured big days from several players whose names keep surfacing in trade rumors ahead of the August 3 deadline.

Tyler Stephenson homered twice and added a double, Nathaniel Lowe and Sal Stewart each hit three-run shots, and Hunter Greene worked six strong innings without a walk.

Afterward, the postgame conversation moved quickly from the scoreboard to the calendar.

The veteran manager didn't dodge the subject when asked how the next two weeks feel inside his clubhouse.

"It's not uneasiness, but the unknown a little bit. It's like you want it to be over, like now," Francona said. "When you've played to our record, there's going to be conversations. That's just the reality of it."

Cincinnati sits last in the National League Central, and pending free agents like Stephenson and Lowe headline the list of players other clubs keep calling about as the front office weighs selling.

No Red has done more for his own market than Stephenson, who is hitting .353 with four home runs over his last 26 games, per MLB.com, a run he traces to one swing in June.

"I feel like just something clicked," Stephenson said. The catcher was just as direct about the rumors swirling around him. "I've got no control. I guess it's as real as it's ever been in my career. So whatever happens, happens," he said. "I love these guys and I've been very grateful to be here with this organization, and whatever happens is going to take care of itself."

Stewart backed him up with his 20th home run of the season, more proof of why the rookie drew praise from Dave Roberts at the All-Star Game.

Greene allowed three runs and struck out seven in one of his first starts since returning from a long elbow layoff on July 4, and he brushed aside his own place in the rumor mill.

"I'm not focused on any of that. All that stuff is out of my control," Greene said. "I'm just trying to control what I can control."

The right-hander may be the most valuable piece Cincinnati could dangle, though the front office also showed this month it will pay for pitching it believes in when it handed Chase Burns a long-term extension.

The speculation stretches beyond the biggest names too, as columns keep debating possible landing spots for Spencer Steer and whether trading him makes sense at all.

The Reds continue their nine-game road trip Monday night in Seattle, where every win between now and the deadline shapes what Francona's roster looks like in August.