Given some pitching depth and a few prospects still left in the upper minors, the Reds seemed like one of the teams to make some move. Then again, outside of Cliff Lee, nothing was really worth dumping prospects for (at least given our strengths.) It would have been nice to add Downs, but the asking price was just way too much. Similar to getting a LF bat, the only one I was interested in (that we knew could move) was Dunn, and the Nats didn't seem like they wanted to trade him, just that the option existed.
I know a lot of Reds fans are frustrated, but trades do happen beyond July 31st and I am glad Walt isn't sacrificing the farm to make deals for the sake of making them. It does hurt momentum to some degree I am sure in the clubhouse, but we have a solid team.