I'm not buying what he says, but I have to say I agree we overpaid. I have cooled off about it and I'm kind of happy about the trade now. He does not seem as supportive.
Matt (Arlington, VA): I was glad to see someone finally write something positive about the Red's aquisition's from the Nats. As a Reds fan, I think we had enough depth to make that trade. However, do you think they have one more move left in them (maybe one more starting pitcher) or are they finished?
Keith Law: (12:58 PM ET ) Well, it wasn't me - I thought that was a terrible deal for the Reds, and I have yet to find one MLB exec at any level who thought it was less than a steal for Washington. I think Krivsky's going to be aggressive and I expect him to try to acquire another arm, but his cupboard is just about bare, especially if Homer Bailey is untouchable.
nick (cincy, OH): Do you believe the reds will be a playoff team this year?
Keith Law: (1:06 PM ET ) No. I think their margin for error was small, and losing 1-3 wins in last week's deal will leave them on the outside.
Bobby (Cincinnati,OH): Do you think the reds will shop Adam Dunn to try and get some more pitching?
Keith Law: (1:09 PM ET ) I don't think they can, not after dealing Kearns and Lopez, unless it was a deal that got them a pretty good bat AND an arm in return - and that's not happening.
JJ (Iowa): Is it possible that every MLB exec., who has judged the Reds-Nats deal a steal, is wrong? The Reds lost the bigger names but Kearns is injury prone and unfulfilled potential personified with a poor work ethic. Lopez is an error machine with a lot of talent but Brandon Phillips can play SS and both were due huge raises down the road.
Keith Law: (1:15 PM ET ) It's possible that all those execs are wrong ... but it's really unlikely in this case. Kearns has been healthy all year, and you really have no idea about his work ethic at all. That's one thing that really bugs me - when people with no contact with teams or players try to impute personality traits (especially negative ones, like a poor work ethic) to specific players. You just don't know. Frankly, even when you're in a game, it's hard to adequately evaluate the makeup of a player on another team. You're heavily dependent on hearsay.
Don't Wimp Out (Cincy): Follow up on why you dislike the Reds-Nats trade. Doesn't team needs come before talent if you are in a playoff race?
Keith Law: (1:44 PM ET ) Yes, absolutely. What I dislike about the deal is the magnitude of the difference between the talent surrendered and the talent received by CIN. But yes, to your general point, trading $1.10 of offense for $1 of pitching is sensible when you're contending and you have too much O and not enough P.
Originally Posted by Joseph
