You typically wouldn't think of the Cincinnati Reds as a team that would be a major player in the free-agent market, but that might change this winter.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Reds have expressed interest in signing right-handed starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, with a rival general manager even going as far to say that he would be “shocked” if Cincinnat did not “spend big” this offseason.

Could that mean the Reds have a legitimate chance of landing Wheeler?

Cincinnati already has a rotation that includes Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray and Anthony DeSclafani, so adding Wheeler would certainly give the Reds one of the more formidable starting staffs in the National League.

Remember: Cincy acquired Bauer from the Cleveland Indians at the trade deadline a few months ago, so its interest in Wheeler is not all that surprising, even if the Reds need bats more than they need arms.

Cincinnati was in on catcher Yasmani Grandal, but he ultimately opted to sign with the Chicago White Sox, leaving the Reds with limited options on the open market as far as hitters are concerned.

While Wheeler is an attractive option, he obviously comes with a whole lot of risk attached.

Since entering the majors with the New York Mets back in 2013, Wheeler missed two full seasons due to arm trouble in 2015 and 2016 and only pitched half of 2017 with more arm issues.

He is also coming off a solid but not great 2019 campaign in which he went 11-9 with a 3.96 ERA, allowing 196 hits while striking out 195 batters over 195.1 innings of work.