PHOENIX (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds acquired reliever Archie Bradley from the Arizona Diamondbacks just before the trade deadline, boosting their bullpen as they try to stay in the playoff race.
The Diamondbacks received outfielders Josh VanMeter and Stuart Fairchild in the deal. The Reds also received cash.
The 28-year-old Bradley has been an important part of the Diamondbacks' bullpen over the past four years and earned the closer's role midway through last season. He has a 4.22 ERA and six saves in 10 appearances this season.
“Going into this morning, there was really still a lot of stuff on the board – a lot of stuff we were interested in,” Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams said. “Bradley was, really, more of a later entry into the conversation, but he had been a guy that we’ve been interested in.”
The Reds also added outfielder Brian Goodwin from the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in exchange for prospect left-handed pitcher Packy Naughton and a player to be named. Goodwin is hitting .242 with seven doubles and four homers this season. The 29-year-old is a career .254 hitter over five seasons with Washington, Kansas City and the Angels.
Bradley was selected by Arizona in the first round of the 2011 amateur draft. He is 22-25 with a 3.96 ERA and 28 saves in 249 career games. With his long beard and outgoing personality, he was a fan favorite in the desert.
The Bradley trade capped a big day of deals for the disappointing D-backs, who have lost 10 of 11 to fall into last place in the NL West. They dealt left-handed starter Robbie Ray to the Blue Jays, reliever Andrew Chafin to the Cubs and outfielder Starling Marte to the Marlins.
Arizona GM Mike Hazen said it was difficult to trade players like Bradley, who has been with the organization for nearly a decade. Bradley is eligible for his third year of salary arbitration next year and will be a free agent after the 2021 season.
“Just as it's players' jobs to go out and do their job, it's mine to do mine as well,” Hazen said. “But yeah, the personal definitely seeps over. Nobody worked harder than Archie Bradley did.”
VanMeter has played two seasons in the big leagues. The 25-year-old hit .237 with eight homers, 23 RBIs and nine stolen bases last season while playing first, second, third and left field. VanMeter has struggled in 2020, going just 2 for 34 at the plate in limited playing time.
The 24-year-old Fairchild was a second-round pick by the Reds in 2017 and split last year between Single-A and Double-A.
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AP freelance writer Mark Schmetzer in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
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