ATLANTA – After Tuesday’s blockbuster trade sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds in a three-team deal, pitching coach Derek Johnson sent a text to Bauer to say he was excited to work with him.

Bauer responded, “It’s about time our paths crossed.” When Bauer was in high school, he expressed interest in playing at Vanderbilt when Johnson was the school’s pitching coach. Bauer said he didn’t receive a scholarship offer until a day after he committed to UCLA.

“I’ve got to bust his balls, man,” Bauer said. “He was supposed to offer me a scholarship at Vanderbilt. I told him like a year, a year-and-a-half before that I want to come to Vanderbilt. I would’ve been teammates with Sonny (Gray). It would’ve been great.”

More than a decade later and they are all sharing the same jersey. Bauer, wearing No. 27, met the Reds in Atlanta on Thursday for the first day with his new team and threw a bullpen session. He will make his Reds debut on Saturday against the Braves.

Bauer is looking forward to his new experiences, except for hitting. He’s not a fan of that. The Reds believe he will provide a big boost for their rotation in the final two months of the season and next year.

“I’d really love to take (Luis) Castillo’s changeup and figure out how to throw it,” Bauer said. “That’s one of the first things I’m going to be looking at. He’s fun to watch pitch, man. Obviously, I’ve known Sonny for a long time. I’ve known Amir (Garrett) for a little bit. There’s a lot of really good talent here.”

Bauer says it’s a fresh start for himself in Cincinnati, but he’s not worried about his past. In his final start with the Cleveland Indians, he threw a ball over the center-field wall in frustration when manager Terry Francona emerged from the dugout for a pitching change.

What did he learn from that incident?

“I’m human,” Bauer said. “It’s nice to feel that sometimes. Sometimes, I spend so much time thinking, and I don’t generally have like strong emotional reactions to very much. Definitely had some strong emotional reactions this past week. It’s good to feel human. Obviously, don’t want to repeat that.”

Bauer told reporters Wednesday that he pitched through a partially torn ligament in his ankle and back spasms during the 2019 season. His voice was a little soft Thursday because he was sick last week.

He has yielded a 3.79 ERA in 24 starts this season with 185 strikeouts in a league-leading 156 ⅔ innings. He led the American League in walks (63) and hit batsmen (14).

“I’m perfectly healthy,” he said. “Getting over a little bit of a sickness, which is part of what was so frustrating. I finally felt like I had three or four consecutive starts and then I got really sick up in Canada. I just feel like every time I take a step forward this season, I take two back.

“All the physical stuff I had going on earlier in the year is resolved and I’m perfectly good to go. Looking forward to having my best two months of the season and hopefully more.”

When Bauer is pitching well, the Reds believe he is one of the best pitchers in the sport. He allowed two runs in 14 ⅔ innings against his new team earlier this year.

“I think he’s an elite pitcher. He’s an uber competitor,” said Gray, who played with Bauer for a summer on Team USA. “Any time you have a chance to add that type of player to a team, especially that type of player to a staff, it’s only going to make everybody better. In my opinion, he’s as good as it gets.”

Despite sitting in fourth place in the National League Central, Reds players were excited that the front office was aggressive and traded for Bauer.

“I’ve certainly seen crazy things happen,” Bauer said. “To rule out the playoffs and whatnot, I would think, is unwise. There’s two months of baseball left, and a lot can change in that time.”

AQUINO CALLED UP: After the Reds traded Scooter Gennett to the San Francisco Giants and Tanner Roark to the Oakland A’s on Wednesday, outfielder Aristides Aquino was added to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A Louisville.

Aquino, 25, was starting in right field for Thursday’s series opener against the Braves. Aquino was batting .299 with 28 homers and 53 RBI in 78 games at Louisville. His 28 homers are the most by a Louisville player since it became a Reds affiliate in 2000.

“Over the last several months he’s made some really good adjustments that we believe will translate at this level,” Bell said. “We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t think the timing was right.”

Aquino had one at-bat with the Reds last season.