Who wants to see Matt Holliday in a Reds Uniform?

I never thought I'd see the day when the Cincinnati Reds would struggle to put runs on the board, but it seems that way so far this season. The team has averaged a miserable 2.85 runs per game with Joey Votto out of the lineup and weren't much better with him in the order everyday. The team also just made the Royals starters look like the Atlanta Braves rotation of the early 90's.

Imagine adding one more productive bat to the lineup... would this push the Reds to the the playoffs?

That bat could be Matt Holliday. Everyone knows the Reds are in need of a bat in the middle of the order to hit for a solid average, have some power, and get runners in, Holliday could fill all of these voids. Lets face it, our outfield is struggling: Nix at .259, Dickerson at .242, Taveras at .229, and the golden child Jay Bruce at .212.

A career .316 hitter, Holliday is only 29 years old, is currently making 13.5 million and is a free-agent after this season. If Holliday isn't locked down to a big contract by either the A's or whomever he may be traded to you know the Reds don't stand a chance vying for him in the free-agent market with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, etc. It doesn't help that Holliday is represented by Scott Boras but he's struggling a little this season and his value for a long-term deal may slip a bit because of this.

We know the Reds have plenty of arms in there farm system but the thing is if you know you won't be able to lock Holliday down long-term do you get rid of prospects for half a season of services?

Holliday recently said, "If it looks like we're not going to be able to make it to the postseason and they can get some good players for me, I'd be OK with getting a chance to go try to make it to the postseason and play in October."

What guy wouldn't want to be traded to a contender, but knowing the Reds can contend may push Holliday to take a cheaper deal to stay with a up-and-coming team.

The Rays have locked down guys like Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford to cheap deals. Many other teams have done this as well so why cant the Reds?