Major League Baseball

Reds stay pat before trade deadline

Published Jul. 31, 2010 11:07 p.m. ET

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The Reds tried to strengthen their bullpen before the trading deadline, but ended up staying pat after a couple of potential deals fell through.

While other playoff contenders made moves Saturday to try to improve, including the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati didn't strike a deal.

''There are certain things we were looking at to see if we can improve,'' general manager Walt Jocketty said, referring to the bullpen. ''But I still like our club. I've always liked our club. I have faith we'll stay in this thing until the end.''

The Reds and Cardinals are locked in a two-team race in the NL Central, separated by only a half-game on Saturday. The Reds have plenty of starting pitching, but the middle of the bullpen has struggled.

Jocketty said the Reds worked on a couple of deals for relievers, but those players wound up staying with their teams on Saturday when the non-waiver trading deadline passed at 4 p.m. EDT.

''We had a couple yesterday that we had been working on for a while that fell apart at the end,'' he said.

Jocketty noted the Reds have some options in the minors. Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has been moved to the bullpen at Triple-A Louisville, an experiment to see if the hard-throwing left-hander could help in relief this season.

The Cardinals were part of a three-team deal that strengthened their pitching staff. They got Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and sent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to San Diego.

''I think they gave up a pretty good hitter, and their offense has struggled lately,'' Jocketty said. ''He's a good addition for them, but they also lost a pretty good player.''

Cincinnati hadn't been in contention this deep into a season since 1999, when the Reds lost a one-game playoff to the Mets for the NL wild card. They haven't been in the playoffs since 1995.

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