They are clearly trying to budget the pitchers for LTC...... this creates a void of good bench players they can sign, it seems.....because they cannot be this bad at what they sign for the bench lately.
They are clearly trying to budget the pitchers for LTC...... this creates a void of good bench players they can sign, it seems.....because they cannot be this bad at what they sign for the bench lately.
RedEye (07-07-2013)
Again, sorry for being unclear. I'm not asking if we are going to change the way we build our team. I am just wondering if current ownership/management has built the brand back up enough to attract top level free agents.
One problem with signing free agents right now is that too many teams are giving useful players ridiculous contracts, i.e. Jason Werth. Trying to sign these kinds of players is often ridiculously inefficient, particularly when compared to the cost of re-signing your own players or using your farm system to develop players who can be traded for need. Of course in order to do this, you have to know how to develop players, and thankfully the Reds have a guy in place in Buckley who does this well.
Looking over this list there are some players, such as Bourn, who weren't ridiculously overpaid, though. More than I would have thought. Of course the Reds aren't going to pay 20 million plus per year for Hamilton or pay BJ Upton like he's a superstar, but they shouldn't. I'm happy with their current approach, and when I look at this list, maybe the chances of them signing a decent FA are greater than I thought.
It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.
This is true, but think of what our bench would look like if Grandal, Didi, and Alonso weren't traded. There's a drought in the upper levels of the system now, but we have good, young players coming up fast who would be able to come in off the bench in after a couple of seasons...at least if they aren't traded away.
I think the Reds bench of Heisey, Paul, Hannahan, Izturis and Mes/Hanigan is ok.
The problem comes when you have injuries, some of these guys start, and then Lutz and DRob join the team.
Hannahan's career indicates that he will be ok with time. I'm not a Heisey fan but together with Paul they are ok from either side as reserve outfielders. Izturis is there for defense. The catching is pretty good.
Not spectacular, but an ok bench.
Last edited by Kc61; 07-07-2013 at 02:33 PM.
*BaseClogger* (07-08-2013)
But supplying trade fodder is one of the main purposes of the farm system. Think about it. Every 1B in the Reds' farm system knows that the chances of ever playing 1B in Cincy is minute. Votto will be a fixture there for a long time. Any 1B will probably be traded unless they can learn another position.
The down side is that every GM in baseball knows that the Reds have Votto at 1B for the next so many years, and any 1B prospects the Reds might have that is blocked by Votto will be undervalued in a trade.
“I think I throw the ball as hard as anyone. The ball just doesn't get there as fast.” — Eddie Bane
“We know we're better than this ... but we can't prove it.” — Tony Gwynn
I don't think Cincy will ever be a place where top free agents want to come to, then again most top free agents care more about how much someone is willing to pay them rather than location. If Bob would throw money around like the Yankees or Tigers for instance, yeah more top free agents would want to come to Cincy.
"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all." -Earl Weaver
Well, they did sign Ludwick and Broxton as FA last year.
And Ludwick the year before when he wasn't one of our guys.
Parra was a FA.
So I agree, the Reds can definitely attract FAs. They aren't likely to win big bidding wars though.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
Well if we can convince Francouer to sign then I think yes we can get anybody.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
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