Johnny Cueto may have had an up and down career during his time as a Cincinnati Red but when he was up he was an elite pitcher who would finish fourth in Cy Young voting in 2012 and was the runner-up in 2014.  That year, Cueto finished at the top in the NL in Innings Pitched, Strikeouts and H/9.  Cueto’s record with Cincinnati was 92 and 63 with 1,115 Strikeouts. 

For the standards of the 1880’s, “Long” John Reilly was a power hitter.  Three times he had over 10 Homers in a season (again, this was very good for this time period) two of which (1884 & 1888) were good enough to lead the league.  Reilly was also a two time Slugging Champion and historically speaking is the first player to hit for the cycle three times.  Reilly also had very good speed swiping 245 bases over his career.

Reilly was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Cleveland Indians knew that Brandon Phillips had an abundance of skills but they gave up on ever seeing that executed at a Major League level.  He was thus traded across the state to Cincinnati, where much to the chagrin of the Tribe, he became the player that he was pegged to be.

In 1939 and 1940, Lonny Frey would have his best seasons and not coincidentally the Reds would make the World Series in both of those years.  One of the best infielders in Reds history, Frey was named an All-Star three times and for five years in a row (1939-43) he finished in the top five in Defensive bWAR, including a first-place finish in 1940.