Micah Owings Will Be a Red Eventually

Shortly after the news of the Adam Dunn trade broke last week, word leaked out that one of the players to be named later would be pitcher/slugger Micah Owings. He's an interesting pickup for the Reds (or anyone, really) because of his varied abilities, but he won't be with the Reds for a while. If you thought trade waivers were complicated, they get even more complex when an injured player is involved.

Any player on the 40-man roster has to be passed through waivers at this time of year to be traded. Owings would probably make it through with the knowledge that he's going to be traded to the Reds eventually and the D'Backs would pull him back if anyone tried to claim him. The problem is that he's injured and injured players can't be placed on waivers. That means that the Reds may not get him until the season ends.

I have no idea what the Reds' plans for Owings are, but given the way that he pitched this year I almost think they should just put him in the outfield and see if he can do an Adam Dunn impression as a left-fielder. I'm sure the Reds won't do that, though, and they'll hope that Owings can approximate the form on the mound that he showed in April while also providing them with some pinch-hitting duties.