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Thread: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

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    Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands
    Big-league deals put teams in tight spot
    BY JOHN FAY | JFAY@ENQUIRER.COM

    MIAMI - Chris Buckley, the Reds' scouting director, has heard the talk.

    The pre-draft rumor mill had Yonder Alonso a) demanding a major-league contract and b) being represented by agent Scott Boras.

    Wrong and wrong.

    "That was out there," Buckley said. "But it's not true."

    It may come to the point where Alonso asks for a big-league contract, but the Reds were in contact with him before the draft and they've heard no such demands.

    "You never know until you get into negotiations," Buckley said.

    The Reds can't begin talking contract with Alonso until his college season is complete. His University of Miami team is playing in a super regional.

    "We just called to say hello on draft day," Buckley said. "But two of our scouts in the area know Yonder and his father well."

    That tells me the Reds have a pretty good idea that Alonso is willing to sign. Baseball is in the kid's blood. His father, Luis, coached and played the game in Cuba.

    A team in the Reds' position - rebuilding with young talent - can't afford to take a player they can't sign.

    That said, if Alonso will only sign a big-league deal, I'd tell him good luck with his senior season at Miami.

    Giving any draftee a big-league deal hamstrings a team. Not only does it cost you too much in terms of dollars, it costs you a spot on the 40-man roster.

    The Reds went the major-league contract route with David Espinosa and Dane Sardinha in 2000.

    How did that work out?

    Espinosa never make it to the big leagues at all. Sardinha's went 0-for-5 in two games with the Reds.

    The Reds ran into the same problem with Wily Mo Pena. They didn't draft him, but they traded for him knowing that he had signed a big league contract as a 17-year-old.

    Once you sign a big-league deal, you have four options. Once you're out of options, a team can't send you to the minors without putting you on waivers. Pena was out of options well before he was ready to play in the big leagues. Pena was a much more valuable commodity than Espinosa or Sardinha, so the Reds kept him around and let him develop in the big leagues - not a very wise approach.

    Alonso sounds like a polished hitter. You don't have a .576 on-base percentage - as Alonso does at Miami - unless you know what you're doing. He excelled in the Cape Cod League, which uses wood bats.

    So there's a chance he'll be ready in 3˝ years, which is when he'd have to be in the majors if the Reds sign him to a big-league deal.

    But that's not a risk I'd take.

    Again, I think the Reds will get him signed for close to what his slot calls for.

    One of the ongoing battles at recent owners meetings has been over commissioner Bud Selig's displeasure with teams paying well above what a player is slotted to receive.

    One noteworthy case of that was last year when the Yankees gave Moeller's Andrew Brackman a $4.55 million big league contract, despite being picked 30th overall while coming off elbow surgery.

    If Brackman doesn't work out, the Yankees are a team that can afford to make a $4.55 million mistake.

    The Reds aren't.

    http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...OL09/806080442


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    Member RedsManRick's Avatar
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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Espinosa was a light hitting middle IF turned OF drafted out of High School. Sardinha was a light hitting C. Pena? 17 year old and raw as heck. None of those three should have been expected to climb through the system with any speed whatsoever.

    Alonso is precisely the kind of guy who flies up the system. I wouldn't want to give him a big league contract either, but the only thing stupider than putting him on on the 40 man is letting him go back to school. This isn't a raw skills guy, but a polished hitter who could be in the majors by 2010. And if he's not ready after 3.5 years, then losing him won't be losing much.
    Last edited by RedsManRick; 06-08-2008 at 12:21 PM.
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    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    What the writer fails to note is that the reason those two were signed to 40 man rosters was so that their signing bonuses could be paid the following year because the Reds had no money.

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    I just hope the Reds pony whatever Yonder asks for...

    It seems that he was one of the best available on the board, although I know people wanted us to take Gordon Beckham instead.

    I'd hate for the Reds to flush a #7 pick b/c they were too cheap.

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by Highlifeman21 View Post
    I just hope the Reds pony whatever Yonder asks for...

    It seems that he was one of the best available on the board, although I know people wanted us to take Gordon Beckham instead.

    I'd hate for the Reds to flush a #7 pick b/c they were too cheap.
    I hope so as well, it'll be worth it - from what i've seen on TV and in his videos he is a hell of a hitter.

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    John Fay just lost even more of my respect, not that there was much there to begin with. He is a complete idiot

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    A Pleasure to Burn Joseph's Avatar
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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    I preferred Beckham, and have criticized the Reds for passing on him. It is not however because I think Alonso is a bad player, just that he's not the right player for us.

    Even my 'disapproval' of his pick, I see that he is exactly the type player who could be here in a year or two if they want him to be. Hitters just plain hit. Alonso is a hitter.

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by redhawk61 View Post
    John Fay just lost even more of my respect, not that there was much there to begin with. He is a complete idiot
    Just curious there what makes you lose respect for Fay from that?
    Actually as an article written for the unwashed masses, I think it does a pretty good job of explaining some intricacies involved with drafting and signing players.
    Quote Originally Posted by BuckeyeRed27 View Post
    Honest I can't say it any better than Hoosier Red did in his post, he sums it up basically perfectly.

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by Hoosier Red View Post
    Just curious there what makes you lose respect for Fay from that?
    Actually as an article written for the unwashed masses, I think it does a pretty good job of explaining some intricacies involved with drafting and signing players.
    For his failure to do research such as about how dougdirt and redmanrick did.

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    Beware of Fake Posts Screwball's Avatar
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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by John Fay
    That said, if Alonso will only sign a big-league deal, I'd tell him good luck with his senior season at Miami.
    Dear John Fay,

    I've put up with your ridiculous grammatical errors (you did major in journalism, right?) and what not for a long, long time. But your non-sensical arguments (most notably the one above) have gone too far. From now on I'm going to forward your work to firejoemorgan.com, in hopes that Ken Tremendous rips you a new one.

    Sincerely,

    Screwball

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by Screwball View Post
    Dear John Fay,

    I've put up with your ridiculous grammatical errors (you did major in journalism, right?) and what not for a long, long time. But your non-sensical arguments (most notably the one above) have gone too far. From now on I'm going to forward your work to firejoemorgan.com, in hopes that Ken Tremendous rips you a new one.

    Sincerely,

    Screwball
    glad to see someone feels the same way I do about him

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by Joseph View Post
    Even my 'disapproval' of his pick, I see that he is exactly the type player who could be here in a year or two if they want him to be. Hitters just plain hit. Alonso is a hitter.
    He'll move as quickly as his bat allows him to -- he's close to fully developed body-wise, the only limitation will be how he adjusts to facing better pitching as he goes up the ladder.

    Not signing him should simply not be an option. He ought to be ready in 3 years, given his supposedly "advanced" bat, so pony up the roster spot if necessary.
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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by RedsManRick View Post
    Espinosa was a light hitting middle IF turned OF drafted out of High School. Sardinha was a light hitting C. Pena? 17 year old and raw as heck. None of those three should have been expected to climb through the system with any speed whatsoever.

    Alonso is precisely the kind of guy who flies up the system. I wouldn't want to give him a big league contract either, but the only thing stupider than putting him on on the 40 man is letting him go back to school. This isn't a raw skills guy, but a polished hitter who could be in the majors by 2010. And if he's not ready after 3.5 years, then losing him won't be losing much.
    Based on the previous history, I was leery, but I was unaware of the intricacies of the situations. I did remember they were contractual issues and the Reds were ill served in both cases. But I'd agree with saying that Fay is too hasty in dismissing the option out of hand.

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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    the lack of comp and second round picks should make signing him more likely. Should be money there and if they don't, it turns a moderately ok draft into a decidedly mediocre one.

    Kind of makes me think that they really wanted a "sure" thing with that pick and had him as the one that was closest to being a sure thing.
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    Re: Reds: Alonso hasn't made any demands

    Quote Originally Posted by ochre View Post
    the lack of comp and second round picks should make signing him more likely. Should be money there and if they don't, it turns a moderately ok draft into a decidedly mediocre one.

    Kind of makes me think that they really wanted a "sure" thing with that pick and had him as the one that was closest to being a sure thing.
    I agree. I think the lack of other high level picks made the most sure thing of the draft a necessity. If they gamble and miss on Drew Stubbs/up the middle type with tons of tools but questions if he'll be able to hit, the entire draft is a bust with no supplementals and no 2nd round. I think Alonso gives them a guy who is most likely to be an average major leaguer for his position even if his position and lack of other tools limit his options. Its better/safer than coming away with Chad Mottola and a lot of what might have beens.
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