Imagine this rotation for the Reds next season:



Luis Castillo



Sonny Gray



Trevor Bauer



Zack Wheeler



Anthony DeSclafani



Wait, why would the Reds want Wheeler? Don’t they need offense? Isn’t starting pitching already their strength?



All fair questions, but the Reds are indeed one of the many teams interested in Wheeler, according to major-league sources.



One agent predicts the Reds will pivot sharply to the free-agent right-hander after losing out on catcher Yasmani Grandal, who agreed Thursday to a four-year, $73 million contract with the White Sox. A rival general manager, without referring to Wheeler specifically, says of the Reds, “I will be shocked if they don’t spend big.”



Cincinnati pulled one surprise after another last offseason, responding to a thin free-agent market for starting pitchers by making separate trades for Alex Wood, Tanner Roark and Sonny Gray. Wood and...