[alnorth]

You also need to factor in that our offense has improved quite a bit this season, so we don't need to count on our pitchers as much as we did.

I also don't think we should be bidding against a phantom. The Reds want to ask for an established pitcher who is on the active roster of a contending team? Fine, they can ask, but that sounds silly to me, because dealing a SP who you are currently counting on from the active 25 man (as opposed to prospects) for another SP is not wise unless your guy is hurt. I don't think they are going to get a taker on that demand from Houston or Toronto, because the improvement would be so very marginal.