Quote:
Originally Posted by M2
Scott Hairston. Discount player who's always produced pop in extreme pitcher's parks. Plays all over the OF and both IF corners. Love to see him providing depth on the Reds.
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Hairston is pretty splitty, He looks a lot like many of the Reds guys who mash LHP, have a low OBP and a high slugging pct. He might be a decent option to back-fill for Ludwick provided the Reds have a 300 PA lefty bat to share the job with him (Xavier Paul?). The line-up really struggles against RHP already and I'd hope that any guys brought in would profile a bit differently than the low OBP, high slugging, big split RH bats like the Reds have so many of. That said, his versatility is a plus and he would be a good guy to mix and match with in LF (better than Heisey IMO). He would seem to be a guy who would thrive in GABP.
If he could be had for a couple of million bucks, he'd be a decent get for the LF mix. He'd probably be a nice cheap option if they can't afford Ludwick.
Of course if bringing in a low OBP, high pop, somewhat splitty RH bat to split LF with Xavier Paul is the path chosen, that would seem to open the field a lot. A couple of familiar free agent names to chew on:
1. Jonny Gomes - Kills LHP, good in the clubhouse (that may be losing Rolen and Cairo) and can hit in the middle of the order. He needs a platoon partner.
2. Austin Kearns - Not splitty at all. Actually has been better against RHP than LHP and historically gets on base at a much better clip than most of the bats on this offense. Not sure if he's still a plus defender, but he'd probably do well sharing LF.
Of course a LH bat who looks somewhat similar to these guys would be better. That brings me to the name I've floated the last couple of years and was left off of my original list. Seth Smith would seem to be the perfect guy for the Reds to target in LF. Should not be overly expensive, kills RHP, decent defender, profiles well in GABP, may be the odd man out in Oakland with Cespedes, Crisp, Reddick and Young ahead of him and Michael Taylor and Jermaine Mitchell around as well. Michael Choice may force his way in this year too. Smith should be available yet again. I'd hate to deal Didi, but he'd be an obvious fit for what ails the A's most (Adam Rosales is currently penciled in as the starter at SS.)