Since the beginning of the offseason, the Reds were clear about their goal of significantly upgrading their starting rotation. With an increased payroll, they thought it was possible they could add as many as three new starters.

The Reds accomplished their goal Monday when they acquired Sonny Gray from the New York Yankees, joining Tanner Roark and Alex Wood as newcomers to their rotation through trades. None of them would be classified as aces, but it meant the Reds didn’t part with any of their top-tier prospects.

For the Reds’ front office, that was the balancing act. They want to win in 2019, but they realize it's a tough National League Central division. They want to build a foundation for the future, but Gray and utility player Kyle Farmer were the only acquisitions who will be under team control past the 2019 season.

In an era where more teams are stockpiling prospects when they don’t have a clear path for playoff contention, why did the Reds add several players with one year left on their contracts?

“It’s the time to take the step forward,” said Dick Williams, the Reds’ president of baseball operations. “We have the financial capability, so we added, and we think we added fairly economically. I don’t feel like we went all-in or cashed in our chips for short-term assets. We were able to get one-year guys at really reasonable deals. When those are up, that money frees right back up for us.”

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Trading for Gray, the Reds surrendered their competitive balance pick in the 2019 MLB Draft (likely No. 37 overall) and their No. 7-ranked prospect Shed Long. Williams said the Reds had to compete with several bidders for Gray, but they thought he was worth the price because of his three-year, $30.5 million contract extension.

The Reds were reportedly in talks with the Cleveland Indians about Corey Kluber, a true ace, but that would’ve cost them at least one of their top prospects Nick Senzel or Taylor Trammell.

“That’s why I feel like we’ve been threading the needle here in terms of holding onto that prospect value while really giving the fans something to get excited about, adding to the team and building,” Williams said. “We don’t feel like we cashed it all in for this year. We still very much feel like this can be a part of a progression.

“Maybe it buys us a year for these guys to continue to develop, come up and contribute.”

Through their moves this offseason, the Reds created depth among starting pitchers and corner outfielders. They want to see how their homegrown players react to the competition and they are confident they will continue to develop.

How much those young players – especially starting pitchers – develop could determine how aggressive the Reds will be in the offseason next year.

“We may decide a year from now, if an outfielder’s contract is up or a starting pitcher’s contract is up, that may not be the spot that has to be replaced at that point,” Williams said. “Maybe somebody else has stepped up, so now that’s more money to go attack a different need. I like the degree of flexibility we have.”

The Reds plan to continue adding to their Major League roster, but they're looking at cheaper options. Top free agent center fielder A.J. Pollock reportedly agreed to a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. They’d like to add a defensive-minded center fielder through free agency or a trade, and they want to add to their bullpen.

“We’re getting to that point where, from here, it’s an opportunistic approach,” Williams said. “We really feel like we’ve hit a lot of the core needs and now it’s going to depend more on finding the right value.

"When I say we look for the most value, the less we spend, the more we can keep doing."

MINOR LEAGUE RANKINGS: The Reds had five players land on Baseball America’s preseason Top 100 prospects list, which was released Wednesday.

Senzel was ranked No. 10, Trammell is No. 33, third baseman Jonathan India is No. 51, right-hander Hunter Greene is No. 57 and right-hander Tony Santillan is No. 69.

Center fielder Jose Siri, who didn’t crack the Top 100, was named Most Valuable Player for the Dominican Winter League finals after leading his team to a championship Wednesday. Siri, who is considered a standout defender, had 13 hits in six games with three doubles, six RBI and five stolen bases.

ASSOCIATE COACH: The Reds announced Thursday that Rolando Valles was joining David Bell's coaching staff as an associate coach. Valles, 39, spent the last 11 years in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

With the Brewers, Valles spent nine years as their minor league liaison to Latino players, assisting non-English speakers with their off-the-field needs and development. He was a pitching coach at their rookie-level affiliate last season.

LONG TO BALTIMORE: Former Reds hitting coach Don Long was announced as the hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Long served as the Reds’ hitting coach from 2014-18.