BAR: Marlon Byrd, Manny Parra could be trade targets

The Blog Above Replacement is Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans' daily look at the Reds, their minor leagues and whatever else is on his mind.

PITTSBURGH — Most of the trade talk around the Reds has centered around Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman — and for good reason.

But there are two under-the-radar trade candidates that won't bring back huge names (and even with Chapman and Cueto, those names are going to be prospects, not Giancarlo Stanton or Mike Trout or even Joc Pederson), but could save some money and bring back a prospect or two. The two I'm thinking about are Marlon Byrd and Manny Parra.

Byrd hit his second home run Wednesday since returning from his wrist injury - and there was a high degree of difficulty, coming off Gerrit Cole and to straight-away center at PNC Park. His other homer was to right-center at GABP. Byrd now has 12 homers in 52 games for the Reds — something that's tough to overlook. Power is always in demand, and Byrd's bringing it. His rate stats aren't great at this point, but since his terrible first month, he looks much better, hitting .262/.360/.598 since May 1 and .316/.350/.632 in five games since his return from the wrist injury.

The biggest thing for Byrd is he missed those two weeks, which will make it tough for him to get to 550 plate appearances - which is where his one-year, $8 million extension kicks in. If it looks like his new team won't be on the hook for that, he looks even better for a team that needs a bat in the lineup.

The other guy is lefty Manny Parra. Parra came in and got a big out last night against Pedro Alvarez, and lefties are hitting just .174/.231/.348 against him this year. Parra is making $3.5 million this year, so adding him won't break the bank for any team looking to get a LOOGY.

MINOR-LEAGUE ROUNDUP

• Triple-A: Scranton/WB 8, Louisville 1: Starter Keyvius Sampson gave up four runs on five hits with five walks in three innings. Sam LeCure gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. The Bats managed just three hits. OF Kyle Waldrop was promoted from Double-A Pensacola to Louisville on Thursday. [Box]

• High-A: Clearwater 6, Daytona 4; Clearwater 3, Daytona 2: LF Phillip Ervin hit his 11th homer of the season in the continuation of Tuesday night's game, while SS Alex Blandino and DH Robert Ramirez went back-to-back in the second game. [Box][Box]

• Rookie: Great Falls 3, Billings 2: Starter Ty Boyles allowed a run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings with three walks and three strikeouts. [Box]

THE ROTATION

1. The people of New York (or at least bloggers at Pinstripe Alley) have discovered the wonder that is Johnny Cueto's Instagram feed. I should tip them off to Jumbo Diaz's.

2. This:

3. Joe Maddon isn't happy about replay. [Chicago Tribune]

4. I've only been to five of this list of the 29 best BBQ restaurants in America, and there's a new list like this every day, but I do appreciate that this one includes a sportswriter. [FirstWeFeast.com]

5. Bummed I'm not in town to catch the Heartless Bastards and Craig Finn tonight or Friday at the Woodward Theater. [Cincinnati.com]