Despite the writing largely being on the wall for the Cincinnati Reds as August approached, the club was still quite active in trying every last effort to make the 2019 a winning one. That included a willingness to take on salary even as they sank in the standings, with the likes of Kevin Gausman and Freddy Galvis picked up to augment the stretch run.
Both of those players came with team control for the 2020 season, though, and the Reds took the first step towards signaling those were moves with an eye on the future as much of the present on Thursday.