30. Cincinnati Reds
Last year, the New York Yankees made the absolutely stupid decision to give up $2 million dollars a year for two years of service from Tony Womack. He showed them just how stupid they were by hitting .249/.276/.280 in 329 at-bats for an abysmal OPS+ of 47. Good thing for the Yankees they have a big payroll and can absorb a lost $2 million, because surely nobody would want to take Womack off their hands.
Well, maybe not so surely. The Reds decided to one-up the Yankees by not only agreeing to give Womack his $2 million, but also giving the Yankees two players (Kevin Howard and Ben Himes) for the pleasure of doing so. The fact that neither Howard nor Himes is anything to write home about is unimportant. Smart teams wouldn't want Womack even if he paid them a million bucks to take up a spot on the roster. Giving up money and players (however uninteresting) for his services is inexcusable.
The other trade the Reds made was very perplexing, since we've heard for years about how important Sean Casey is to them and how reluctant they are to trade him. When they finally do decide to trade him (admittedly after a down year), all they can get is Dave Williams? They really need a 27-year-old who has only pitched 83 innings in the majors, with 53 strikeouts and 35 walks, that badly?
Bringing back Rich Aurilia for only $1.3 million isn't terrible because he was solid for them last year. And giving $700,000 to Scott Hatteberg isn't going to matter much in the grand scheme of things (although that money is just as wasted as the money spent on Womack). And signing Adam Dunn to a two-year deal with an option for a third is smart.
But overall, the Reds didn't do enough to address their big need (pitching), and some of the acquisitions they made were just so strange that you can't help but wonder what the Reds were thinking this winter. I guess it probably didn't help things that the ownership and front office was in flux, but that doesn't make it any easier for Cincinnati fans to accept what happened.
