On the first day of the offseason Wednesday, the Cincinnati Reds made their first move and may have signaled they're taking a step back with their roster this winter.
The Reds traded longtime catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers for minor league infielder Nick Quintana. The Reds held a $7.5 million club option in Barnhart's contract, with a $500,000 buyout, and they began reaching out to teams last week to try to find a trade partner.
General Manager Nick Krall said there were a couple of teams interested before they accepted Detroit's offer. Barnhart, the second-longest tenured Reds player behind Joey Votto, is a two-time Gold Glove winner and played a big part in the pitching staff's success with his game-calling and ability to block pitches.