Raisel Iglesias might get to settle down in the Queen City after all.
Although at least one other team has been said to have interest in acquiring Iglesias, the Cincinnati Reds are reportedly telling rival clubs that they plan to hold onto their Cuban closer this offseason, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Cincinnati is coming off a 94-loss season, but there were several bright spots in 2017 - including Iglesias' work in the ninth inning - and Rosenthal reports that the team believes a window of contention could come as early as 2019, when Iglesias would still be under team control at a relatively friendly salary.
Without referencing Iglesias directly, Reds general manager Dick Williams told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro on Monday that he's not thinking about dealing from his core group of youngsters - a group that by all accounts includes his 27-year-old closer.
"Right now, I feel like our team is in a pretty good place," Williams said. "I want them to keep growing. I want to keep them together. I don't foresee a lot of subtractions."
Iglesias appeared in 63 contests for the Reds last season and saved 28 games in 30 attempts while posting a 2.49 ERA and averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings. He's under contract for another three seasons and is set to earn just $4.5 million in 2018, though Iglesias does have the right to opt out of the remainder of his deal in favor of entering arbitration.
It was reported on Sunday that the Minnesota Twins had contacted the Reds to discuss the potential availability of Iglesias.
