Originally Posted by
Jay Bruce
I've never understood the love that Cantu recieves on this board. We're talking about a guy who has a .039 career ISOD, and a .312 career OBP. In addition, the only position he can field adequately is first base, where the Reds already have Votto. The only place on the roster we would have for Cantu would be against left handed pitchers, where Cantu is a career .260/.296/.441 hitter. Based on the money he would have recieved in arbitration, thanks to his fluky 2005, Cantu would be too expensive compared to his worth on the team.
As for Medlock, he will be 25 this season, and still not major league ready. After the trade last year, Medlock posted a 4.6 K/9, 5.17 BB/9 and 1.15 HR/9 at Durham, albeit in a small sample size. Couple that with his 9.56 K/9, but 7.88 BB/9 at Louisville, and you have a pitcher who stuggled mightily in AAA. He will probably improve this year, but Medlock is not someone I would lose any sleep worrying about losing.
Basically, I think the Reds wanted a closer look at Cantu, to see if he could help the Reds in the future, and didn't find the cost of a soon to be 25 year old marginal relief prospect as much of a hinderance. Based on what the Reds saw at Louisville and Cincinnati, they probably weren't overly impressed. The Reds didn't recieve a whole lot of value, but didn't give up much either.