CINCINNATI — The Reds made a trade to clear room for their top prospect Thursday, sending outfielder Alex Ochoa to the Colorado Rockies for second baseman Todd Walker, a former Salt Lake Buzz star and a minor leaguer.
The deal between last-place teams gave the Rockies another versatile outfielder and gave the Reds a chance to bring up Adam Dunn, their most highly regarded prospect in years.
He was promoted from Triple-A Louisville and will start in left field.
"We wanted to get on with our future now," general manager Jim Bowden said. "Dunn should have been here a month ago. Dunn couldn't be here until we moved an outfielder."
Dunn, 21, hit .334 with 32 homers and 84 RBIs in 94 games this year at Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville. He was the MVP of the Triple-A All-Star game in Indianapolis, where he homered twice. He also hit a homer at the Futures game in Seattle as part of the All-Star festivities.
The 6-foot-6-inch, 240-pound outfielder was a second-round draft pick in 1998. He chose baseball over playing quarterback at Texas, and emerged this year as one of the top power hitters in the minors.
Reds fans have clamored for Dunn's promotion during a lost season. At 35-60, the Reds are 25 games under .500 for the first time since 1984.
The Reds' only hesitation about Dunn is his erratic fielding.
Ochoa started 84 games in right field and hit .289 with seven homers and 35 RBIs. He recently broke out of an 0-for-31 slump that was the longest by a Reds player in 21 years.
The Reds have been trying to deal infielder Pokey Reese or outfielder Dmitri Young but wound up giving up their best all-around outfielder behind Ken Griffey Jr.
Walker hit .297 in 85 games for Colorado with 12 homers and 43 RBIs. The Reds could use another middle infielder because shortstop Barry Larkin is out indefinitely with torn groin muscles.
Walker was surprised by the trade, too. He's not sure what will happen if Larkin returns and Reese is still around.
"That's out of my control," Walker said. "You just play until that day comes."
The Reds also got minor league outfielder Robin Jennings of Park City in the trade. Jennings hit .301 with seven homers and 31 RBIs in 49 games at Triple-A and was designated for assignment to the Reds' farm system.