Nick Krall Explains How Cincinnati Reds Landed New Pitcher
Krall reveals the strategic back-and-forth that secured the Reds a hard-throwing reliever.
Video Transcript
The Cincinnati Reds acquired right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicholas from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for infielder Tyler Callahan.
And according to Cincinnati Reds GM Nick Kroll, this deal didn't just come together overnight.
He said the two sides have been talking about these specific players for some time before they finally got it done.
Here's what Kroll had to say about it.
He said, quote, We had worked around it for a while, and it was something we were able to finish yesterday.
And then talking about what they're getting in Nicholas, he said, It was a guy we can get who's a power arm, has a chance to pitch in the back of the bullpen.
We felt it was a move we had to make for now and the future.
So clearly this was something that Cincinnati had been targeting for a while.
This wasn't just like, hey, Hunter Green may be out for a while.
Let's go get somebody.
No, this is something that has been in the works for a little bit.
So what does each side get out of this?
Well, for the Reds, Nicholas is twenty-six.
He throws hard from the right side, and he kind of profiles as like a late inning reliever.
That's a real need for a team that obviously has some depth issues.
Obviously, they acquired some arms to kind of shore that up, but they're trying to take the next step in a tough NL Central.
For Pittsburgh, they get Callahan, who is a left-handed bat that can play second base, third base, left field.
He had that bad injury to his wrist in left field over the past year.
The Pirates are looking for some things to add a versatile young bat, fit kind of right into what they're building over there.
But at the end of the day, it feels like the Reds kind of got what they wanted.
The Reds added the power arm that they've been eyeing, and the Pirates got a young bat that they believed in.
So I think it's a pretty solid deal for everybody involved.
But it's crazy.
Both of these teams were working on this type of deal for a while.
Usually you see that with blockbuster moves with higher profile players.
But the fact that the Reds were keying in on Kyle Nicholas, I mean, that kind of tells me that they really see something in him.
And maybe he could be an integral part of their bullpen, their staff, their rotation in some capacity in twenty twenty-six.
