CINCINNATI — Just one month ago, the Cincinnati Reds were 20-13, tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the National League Central, a game behind the first-place Chicago Cubs.With a 4-3 10-inning victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, the Reds’ record stands at 31-29, but they are in last place in the NL Central, seven games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. — exactly two months from today.To say forecasting the Reds’ position entering the deadline is difficult would be an understatement. Entering Wednesday’s games, only four NL teams have losing records. Now 60 games into the season, the Reds still haven’t played the Brewers, the division leader.“I just don’t get too carried away with (speculation) because you don’t know,” Reds manager Terry Francona said Tuesday.Francona’s team looks different even from what it did a week ago, much less a month or two ago. Already this season, the Reds have used 26 pitchers, the second most in baseball behind the Baltimore Orioles and just two fewer than the team used in all of 2025.To get too specific about what could happen for the Reds at the deadline is quixotic at best. But there are ways to look at where the Reds sit 60 games into the season and what it could mean in two months.Rotation• Opening Day: LHP Andrew Abbott, RHP Brady Singer, RHP Rhett Lowder, RHP Chase Burns, LHP Brandon Williamson• May 2: Lowder, Burns, RHP Chase Petty, Abbott, Singer• Current: Abbott, Burns, Singer, LHP Nick Lodolo, RHP Chris PaddackWhen Lyon Richardson has more starts for the Reds than Hunter Greene two months into the season, you could say things aren’t going as planned.Greene, however, is still on track for a return before the All-Star break, and the Reds could enter the last two months of the season with an impressive rotation of Greene, Burns, Abbott, Lodolo and either Lowder or Singer.Lowder took a step toward returning to the rotation Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn., going five innings in a rehab start for the Triple-A Louisville Bats. Lowder allowed three runs on six hits, but struck out eight and didn’t walk any batters. He threw 70 pitches, 50 for strikes.A healthy rotation would also help the team’s bullpen, much like how the addition of starter Zack Littell last year at the deadline moved Nick Martinez to the bullpen, solidifying that unit for the playoff run.Bullpen• Opening Day: RHP Graham Ashcraft, LHP Brock Burke, RHP Jose Franco, RHP Pierce Johnson, LHP Sam Moll, RHP Emilio Pagán, RHP Connor Phillips, RHP Tony Santillan