His breakout season in Syracuse earned him a permanent major league spot, at age 31, with the Reds, and Sauer would play in over one hundred games in every season through 1954. As Cincinnati's regular left fielder in 1948, Sauer slugged 35 home runs, fourth in the National League. But he started slowly in , with only four homers in his first 32 games, and on June 15, he was traded to the Cubs in a two-for-two, all-outfielder trade involving Frank Baumholtz, Harry Walker and Peanuts Lowrey.
