The Cincinnati Reds are a team stuck in the middle at this point in the 2015 season. The Reds have not played themselves out of contention for the National League Wildcard, but they are hovering near that point.

After Monday night’s 11-7 win over the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati is now 35-40 on the season and six games out in the Wildcard standings. More than half of the season remains, so the Reds could conceivably put together a streak to get right in the thick of the Wildcard race in a matter of 10 days.

But can General Manager Walt Jocketty and the Reds’ ownership wait to see if this team will get hot in the second half? Or should they start to trade away some of their pieces in hopes of being better next season?

It’s a tough call at this point. The Reds are only six games back in the Wildcard standings, but there are five teams between Cincinnati and the San Francisco Giants. That’s a lot for a team to overcome in half a season.

If the Reds stand pat, they need to get hot on offense, as they did Monday night. The best news out of Monday’s game was that it was the Reds’ young talent that did most of the damage. Billy Hamilton had two hits, stole four bases and scored three runs. Tucker Barnhart had four hits and knocked in a pair of runs. And Eugenio Suarez had three hits and three runs batted in.

The decision remains for the Reds’ front office on whether to buy, sell or stand pat at the trading deadline. If they do decide to sell, at least there is a young nucleus of talent to build around for next season.

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.