The Reds could have traded Aroldis Chapman in July.
We don’t know exactly what Arizona, Houston and the Yankees were offering then. We won’t know how the reported offer by the Dodgers or others early this week, compared to the proposals from five months ago. The secrecy that inherently accompanies unaccepted trade offers protects mistakes of omission by the front office from public scrutiny.
We do know last summer the Reds were asking for the moon, the stars and a couple small planets for Chapman. Even with those astronomical demands, deals were close. Maybe really, really close.