 Though he was considered a top prospect, the Reds held him out of winter league baseball during the 1995–96 offseason.The Reds added Deion Sanders and Rubén Sierra to their outfield competition for the 1997 season, prompting Mottola to question the Reds commitment to him.After he spent the 1997 season in the minors, the Reds traded Mottola to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later in April 1998.