Examining the club right now, I see two dependable bats that will be here past this year, Votto and Bruce, and even Jay goes through his dead periods at the plate.
For one, Brandon Phillips, for all his overall value, has fallen off a cliff for the lay month+ now (sub 600 OPS) after his great start. Is he declining? Is he injured? He's the next closest thing to a sure bet the Reds have.
Todd Frazier has been in the same boat this year. He's been surprisingly good defensively. At the plate, he's struggling to keep his SLG over 400.
Hanigan appears to be past his days of being a useful hitting catcher. Mesoraco continues to be whatever. Catcher is a problem spot for sure.
Most things that can be said about Cozart have already been said. 260 OBP and a genuinely useless player with a bat in his hands.
CF is going to be a question mark when Choo leaves. Choo himself has been an extreme platoon player this season also.
LF is not looking so hot, now that Paul and Robinson's hot streaks are over. Ludwick will be back, but he could turn into Scott Rolen (current model) if his shoulder is bum.
Of all these positions, the only one where help appears to be near in the minors is CF where Billy Hamiton currently plays, but he too has a lot of questions to be answered.
Might the Reds need to make a major move to bring in some help to the offense?