Should Reds sign Kearns to a Baldelli type deal?

I was looking up some stuff with all of the contracts going down. And I came across Rocco Baldelli. Then I started thinking about Austin Kearns and Baldelli's similarities. Both were top draft picks, Kearns was the 7th in 1998 and Baldelli was the 6th in 2000, I believe. And came up through the minors pretty successfully. Both have given hints of being really good. I would say Kearns has shown a little more than Baldelli but Kearns has been hit with a few more injuries to balance it out.

Baldelli was signed to a 3-year deal worth $9 million from 2006-2008 with club options in '09 for $6 million, '10 for $8 million and '11 for $9 million. There is a buyout in 2009 for $4 million and a buyout in 2011 for $2 million. There are also incentives that could increase the '07 and '08 salaries depending on plate appearences.

To sum it up Baldelli was signed to a 3-year deal for $9 million with club options for 2009-2011 that increase the salary big time but then there are a few buyouts incase injuries continue to take place or not enough production. Plus there are large pay increases for living up the the expectations.

I say it would be in the Reds best interest to look into a deal like this for Kearns. It makes a lot of sense. It does not break the bank for years to come if the injuries continue but also could lock up a good player for many years to come. Plus not to mention it would really help in trying to sign Dunn to a long term deal I believe. Makes nothing but sense to me.

With his history of injuries I think you need to wait til he shows he can stay healthy and productive for a season before you start looking Long Term with him. Now Pena I might try and do that for (something maybe 3 yr 9-12 mil with elevators based on results).

I have actively supported giving Austin a 4 year/10 Million dollar deal. With the hopes that Adam Dunn will go ahead and ink his name to a 6 year/60 Million dollar deal...

if kearns shows commitment to keep in shape and do things to improve his game, then yeah, but i think it is early now for a contract like that... unfortunately for kearns he has had injuries that have set him back but he is still young and has very good upside.... i would like to see him have a solid, consistent season under his belt before i sign him to a contract longer than 1 year, not because i don't think he will be good, but i just want to make sure last year was a fluke... i like austin and think he will make a very fine player, so i hope for the best for him... if you remember though, when he and Dunn were coming up through the ranks, kearns was said to be the better player, right now i think he's a little behind, but with his consistent batting and solid defense, he should be very valuable.

I also want to point out that when he came back from the minors from his "Striaghten yourself out" period. He ripped the ball pretty well...

12 homers in 60 some games...42 RBI to finish with 18-67...Not bad at all...

JaredRoberts.com

If the Reds wait for Kearns to "prove he can stay healthy" (i.e. avoid being sat on by Ray King or have his finger broken by a pitch), he will suddenly be too expensive for the Reds to sign long-term.

If they want to keep him, the wait-and-see approach won't work.

Nope. Just not a beliver in Kearns. Hope I am wrong. I would target trading him for pitching if he gets off to a good start.

What exactly has Kearns done to merit a long term deal? Show up to camp 25 lbs overweight and out of shape? Pout when he was sent down because of it? Show the ability to stay healthy for long periods? One year deals for this guy.

I think this is a great idea. Even if he totally flopped, 9 million over 3 years (plus a buyout) isn't going to kill us.

Chances are, he's not going to totally flop. Even if he's disappointing, he'll be tradable. Look at how attractive Burnitz is to teams.

I don't see any significant risk at all to giving Kearns a deal like this. Of course, after DanO exiled him to the minors and all the junk Miley pulled, Kearns might not want to be locked up beyond his free agency years.

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Originally Posted by redsfanmia

What exactly has Kearns done to merit a long term deal? Show up to camp 25 lbs overweight and out of shape? Pout when he was sent down because of it? Show the ability to stay healthy for long periods? One year deals for this guy.

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I agree. An LTC could be counter-productive in this case. In spring 2005, Kearns showed a tendency to coast rather than commit.