From Ken Rosenthal:
As expected, #Reds officially exercise Arroyo's $11M club option. GM Jocketty has said he will try to sign Arroyo to extension. #MLB
http://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal
From Ken Rosenthal:
As expected, #Reds officially exercise Arroyo's $11M club option. GM Jocketty has said he will try to sign Arroyo to extension. #MLB
http://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal
From the Reds twitter page:
The Reds today exercised the 2011 contract options for Arroyo and Gomes but did not exercise contract options for Harang and Cabrera.
http://twitter.com/CincinnatiReds
Sigh, I hope we're not going to have to put up with another year of Gomes' awful defense and first pitch hacking. He's not a bad guy to have around as a 5th outfielder but if he's the starting left fielder entering 2011 then this offseason will have been a bad one, IMO.
1) if the Reds want to use Gomes as the RH part of a platoon in left or as a bench outfielder this is probably ok (even with his poor defense). He hits LHP much better than RHP.
If the Reds five outfielders next year are Bruce-Stubbs-Gomes-Heisey-Nix then we are in deep doo doo.
One thought: maybe the team is looking to deal Heisey to a team that needs a centerfielder?
2) IMO letting Cabrera go is a good move. I suspect both Janish & Cozart are better than him at this stage of his career.
.
The Gomes and Cabrera decisions are all about the amount of the option.
Gomes clearly is a value move. You may find a better value on the open market, but you would have to get lucky with someone outperforming the contract. I think everyone agrees the Reds need an upgrade in LF and that Gomes would be best used off the bench, but he isn't the worst fallback option if Walt can't find the right upgrade.
Cabrera, on the other hand, carried too big a price tag with his option. I fully expect the Reds to try to re-sign him to a one-year deal at a smaller number, and I'm fine with that. The guy was an important piece to the puzzle, and I'm not in any way ready to put all my eggs in the Janish or Cozart baskets.
My guess is LF and SS will remain unsettled well into the offseason and quite possibly into spring training.
I was very, very, very happy with the 2010 season. With that said, I think we need to aim higher in 2011. Instead of aiming for a playoff appearance, we should be shooting for a World Series appearance. In order to do that, the Reds need to upgrade, and IMO, left field is a good place to start.
Yes, but this move really isn't about who plays LF.
The move, as someone said, is a value move.
Gomes had a relatively cheap option. The Reds got the player back for next year at a salary favorable to the team.
It makes sense to exercise such an option. How the player fits in; whether he gets traded; all are future decisions.
But, again, it was sensible to lock him in at the option salary and worry about his role later on.
Great decision on letting Cabrera walk. I jump face first into the Janish/Cozart SS combo (assuming they can not trade for a SS). I love picking up Gomes' option, as long as he is used as a backup OF. He has power from the right side and is fairly cheap. I understand picking up Arroyo, and now the Reds have legitimate trading chips!
This is going to be a very exciting offseason. Go Reds!
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