Zack Cozart has shown the Cincinnati Reds that he is fully recovered from reconstructive knee surgery.
The six-year Reds’ shortstop is celebrating his 31st birthday today in the midst of a career year at the plate. His current .266 batting average and .768 OPS would be career bests for a full season. His 15 home runs so far this year ties his career high.
Cozart has also excelled in the field. He started a little rusty but has since regained his Gold Glove caliber form. Cozart has committed just one error in his last 41 games. He has a.979 fielding percentage for the year, which is just off his .984 career-best for a full season in 2014.
The Reds still have one year of club control with Cozart. He’s making just under $3 million this year but should see a healthy spike next year in his final year of salary arbitration eligibility.
The Reds could do much worse than keeping Cozart. The Reds’ front office has proven time and time again over the past two years that they don’t trade well.
The optimal time to trade Cozart would have been the non-waiver trade deadline. The trade market for a starting shortstop never developed due to demand, but the Reds still almost dealt Cozart to the Seattle Mariners.
Now, the Reds can only deal with one team. The team that claims Cozart won’t likely be a contender this year. But losing teams that intend to contend in 2017 will most definitely find Cozart enticing.
The Reds are playing Jose Peraza daily at shortstop in Triple-A. 51 of his 62 Triple-A starts this year have come at short. The Reds have to justify trading for Peraza at some point. That will factor into the decision of moving Cozart now.
The Reds also forked out $9 million to 22-year-old Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, who is toiling now in the Dominican Summer League.
At some point, the Reds have to start their future at shortstop. This may be as good as time as any to move Cozart.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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