Reds Trade Rumors: 3 Rumors To Know Before The Deadline

The hours are ticking down in advance of Friday's 2015 MLB Trade Deadline, and there's plenty of intrigue to go around surrounding all 30 MLB teams -- ESPECIALLY the Cincinnati Reds. With that in mind, here's our Reds Trade Rumors: 3 Things To Know At The Trade Deadline.

Giants, Diamondbacks Interested In Aroldis Chapman

Two NL West rivals may be vying for the services of Reds closer Aroldis Chapman prior to Friday's cutoff, per multiple media reports.

The San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks have both inquired on Chapman, with Arizona perhaps willing to move current closer Brad Ziegler to a setup role and the Giants reportedly having internal reservations about whether Santiago Casilla is a viable closing option as the team continues to jockey for playoff positioning.

Tigers Targeting Mike Leake?

This runs counter to a report by ESPN's Buster Olney on Wednesday which indicated that the Detroit Tigers are telling teams that they are in full selling mode before the deadline, but it is worth noting -- the Tigers had Reds starter Mike Leake on their radar as recently as yesterday.

"The Tigers have Reds starter Mike Leake on their radar if they determine this week they can realistically stay in the AL wild-card race," USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweeted.

While that may all have changed in the past 24 hours, this wouldn't be the first time that a team's front office pulls a 180 and/or both buys and sells at a deadline if the Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski decides to go that route.

Reds Wanting To Get Out From Under Joey Votto's Contract?

Boston Globe MLB insider Nick Cafardo posed an interesting question in his Sunday Baseball Notes column published this past weekend.

"Do you think the Reds, Brewers, Twins, and Tigers would love to get out from under huge contracts? Joey Votto has another $192 million owed him after this season, until the year 2023, when he’ll be 40," he wrote.

Votto's production has been in line with his career metrics this year, if not slightly above. However, the Reds might see this as a perfect time to potentially offload a massive financial commitment if they can pick up a (potential) Cole Hamels-like blockbuster return out of it.

Follow our Cincinnati Reds team page for the latest Reds trade rumors!