Offseason Deals and Rumors

[Gallen5862]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Yenier Bello Cleared To Sign With MLB Teams

By Steve Adams [January 24 at 10:38am CST]

Cuban catcher Yenier Bello has been cleared by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and is now free to sign with a Major League club, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.

The 28-year-old Bello was cleared to sign by Major League Baseball back on Oct. 1 and has been scouted by as many as 15-20 Major League teams. Sanchez lists the Dodgers, Cubs and Blue Jays as teams that have been connected to Bello, who is said to offer some pop from behind the dish. He batted .274 with 13 homers in Cuba's Serie Nacional in 2011 -- a league in which the regular season is just 90 games long.

It's unclear what type of commitment it would take for a team to land Bello, but doesn't appear to be on the same prospect level as recent Cuban signees Jose Dariel Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and Aroldis Chapman. Because he is older than 23 and has more than three years of professional experience, Bello will not be subject to the international spending limitations laid out in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement; Bello can sign with any team for any amount. Now that he's been cleared to sign, I've added Bello's name to our 2014 Free Agent list.

[AmarilloRed]

Walt not likely to sign Nelson Cruz in a article by Mark Sheldon:

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty was asked about the potential of signing free agent Nelson Cruz to boost the offense.

“I would say no,” Jocketty replied. “We don’t want to give up the draft pick. I like the way our club is now.”

[Redsfansince72]

Walt
“I would say no,” Jocketty replied. “We don’t want to give up the draft pick. I like the way our club is now.”

Yea that will sell tickets..i bet the Cardinals are scared..NOT .......... I am talking about the last statement about liking the way the club is now

[gilpdawg]

I wouldn't give up the draft pick for a guy whose combined bWAR since 2011 is 3.7 either.

[RedlegJake]

I have no problem with Walt's decision about Cruz. I don't want Cruz either if he costs a draft pick. He's slipping fast.

[corkedbat]

No problem with not wanting to lose a pick for Cruz, big problem with thinking that this team doesn't need offensive improvement. I love Hamilton, but if he tanks and there's no one to turn to for offense then it's on Walt's head - especially if they don't get a substantial combined production upgade from Ludwick, Cozart, Frazier and Mesaraco. Not believing that a serious LH OF/bench bat is sorely needed at the very least is absurd.

[RedlegJake]

corked...I really think Walt is doing just that - laying his eggs in the "bound to improve" basket with Cozie and Frazier, "bound to succeed" basket with BH and "bound to rebound" basket with Ludwick. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Thomas Neal get every chance to hit his way onto the 25 man. I also think Walt will be trawling the late unsigned market. Other than that I think Jocketty feels this team can compete as it is.

[corkedbat]

Homer doesn't rule and extension out (but he by no means rules it in). I still believe he hits the market.

Homer Bailey was cautious in his remarks about signing a multi-year contract with the Reds, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "There is [interest], but it has to be something that works out for both ends," said Bailey. "That's kind of tough to do. You see a lot of the signings that are going on, so, of course, it's going to raise eyebrows on my behalf. Obviously, with a mid-market team, it's tougher for them, also. We're just going to have to see how everything goes." Bailey, who is represented by Excel Sports Management (the agency which negotiated lucrative long-term deals for Clayton Kershaw and Masahiro Tanaka this offseason), is arbitration eligible asking for $11.6MM while the Reds countered with $8.7MM.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/0...phillies-.html

[kaldaniels]

I don't know what it will mean in the big picture but the Reds offering 8.7 MM to Homer seems kinda cheap.

[corkedbat]

corked...I really think Walt is doing just that - laying his eggs in the "bound to improve" basket with Cozie and Frazier, "bound to succeed" basket with BH and "bound to rebound" basket with Ludwick. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Thomas Neal get every chance to hit his way onto the 25 man. I also think Walt will be trawling the late unsigned market. Other than that I think Jocketty feels this team can compete as it is.

Yeah, I posited a few days ago that Walt may have realized his recent statements that he was not optomistic about re-upping Homer and that there was no money to add anyone of significance might not have played well with a ticket push going on - hence the sudden renewed optomism about retaining Homer and the shadow play of signing Sizemore.

If there truly is no money to do anything and they can't re-sign Bailey, then he needs to re-balance the poor salary distribution on this club and get some kind of return for a top asset that's about to walk.

Compete or compete not, it is doing nothing you must avoid.

[Kc61]

"We're not done looking to improve our offense," Jocketty said. "It could just be a bat. It could be a leadoff hitter. Whatever we can do to improve our offense."

That's from a pre-Winter Meetings Reds.com article entitled: "Offense the priority as Reds head south for Winter."

Now, Walt didn't promise a deal and was merely stated his objective. But this doesn't sound like a GM who is totally satisfied with his team if you ask me. I guess things may have changed when he actually talked trade with other clubs. Maybe the demands of other clubs would have weakened the Reds overall. So ok.

But everybody knows the Reds offense is short. Isn't a disaster, you can win with run prevention sometimes. But, c'mon, the offense is short.

[redsmetz]

Walt
“I would say no,” Jocketty replied. “We don’t want to give up the draft pick. I like the way our club is now.”

Yea that will sell tickets..i bet the Cardinals are scared..NOT .......... I am talking about the last statement about liking the way the club is now

Let's see if we can put it in a way that might make RZ feel better:

He's already said we're exploring options - trades, free agents - and nothing has materialized on any of those fronts. So how is it if he said, "We couldn't get anything done and, frankly, we're worried this offense will be woefully insufficient to make us competitive this season."

Now that'll get the ticket buyers lining up at the doors, don't you think?

[klw]

Bailey, who had surgery after last season to repair a hernia, maintained his fondness for the city of Cincinnati and the club itself.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/cin/...&vkey=news_cin

Did we know that Homer had off-season surgery? I hope he is doing well.

Also in the article was this:

Don't discount Price's presence as a chip in the Reds' favor.

"That's obviously something," Bailey said. "You hear from players who have been with other teams talking about other managers, other GMs, other front-office people -- whether it's good or bad. [It's important] knowing Bryan and knowing the relationship I have with him. I like our front office. It's a good bunch of guys. I like the owners. They do a lot here. Yeah, that definitely counts for something. At the end of the day, this is still a business. This is the way baseball works."

...

"If you've only been one place, you only know one thing, right? You know what's here," Bailey said. "That's one of the variables that you do know. You can go somewhere else and, again, that's part of the gamble that you have to take."

Is Bailey the gambling type?

"We'll find out," he replied.

[RedTeamGo!]

I just think it is really obvious Homer Bailey will be pitching for another team in 2015. The Reds are not going to give him what he wants, and I don't blame him for wanting a lot. He is seeing these deals with Kershaw, Tanaka, Anibal Sanchez (2013), and Garza and he correctly thinks he can shoot for the moon. An AL team will back up a Brinks truck to him.

[mattfeet]

Id rather have Latos anyways and I think the odds are much better that he wants to stay in Cincy than Bailey.