Who will the Reds put on the 40-man roster?

[wheels]

That's so funny. Had me chuckling visualizing the scene. I guess how annoying he found you depends on how hammered he was.

He's a very nice kid.

His girfriend is one of the trainers at my gym, and he works out with my trainer during the offseason, so it's not like he didn't know me anyway.

It's just that I think he's used to seeing me in agony, as opposed to my other (drunk as a king) persona.

[OnBaseMachine]

Here are a couple other guys that interest me who were left unprotected:

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/playe...s-guzman.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/playe...ald-Veal.shtml

Doug also has a nice list up over on his site.

[OnBaseMachine]

Here's a guy that interests me the most along with Veal:

Born in Cuba, Morlan was a third-round pick in 2004, signed for $420,000 and moved to the bullpen in 2006. He had one of the biggest arms in the Twins system, with a fastball that touched 97 mph at times and a mid-80s power slider. However, the 22-year-old Morlan loses fastball command when he throws that hard, and the Twins had him focused on command with a heater in the low 90s, averaging 92-93 mph. His slider remains a plus pitch; at times it has excellent two-plane depth and touches 86 mph, making it a true strikeout offering. Morlan's fastball lacks significant life, and he doesn't command the strike zone with it. While he had success in the Arizona Fall League, with 12 scoreless outings, he walked six in 12 2/3 innings, and the Twins believed his lack of fastball command—due to persistent over-throwing and over-rotating in his delivery—limited his ceiling to that of setup man, rather than closer.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/m...pbp&pid=461851

I'd definitely pick him up if he's available when the Reds pick.

[BRM]

Speaking of past Rule 5 drafts, this from John Fay.

Question from Chris Sabo (I'm pretty sure it's the that Chris Sabo): With the Rule 5 draft coming up, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me: What happend to Carlos Guevara? I know he was sent down to the minors for the end of last year, why was he not sent back to Cincinnati, did the Reds refuse the deal, or what?

A: Guevara, the little left-hander with the good screwball, is still wirh the San Diego Padres, who picked in the Rule 5 draft. He went 1-0 with a 5.84 ERA. I believe the Padres offered him back and the Reds didn't take him. I couldn't find the exact transaction. But he was assigned to Triple-A Portland on July 8. He went 0-3 with 6.50 ERA at Portland.

Guevara is actually right-handed. Was he really offered back to the Reds and the Reds declined?

[OnBaseMachine]

Speaking of past Rule 5 drafts, this from John Fay.

Guevara is actually right-handed. Was he really offered back to the Reds and the Reds declined?

Yep. He was offered back to the Reds sometime during the summer IIRC and the Reds declined.

[BRM]

Thanks OBM.

[dougdirt]

Here's a guy that interests me the most along with Veal:

Born in Cuba, Morlan was a third-round pick in 2004, signed for $420,000 and moved to the bullpen in 2006. He had one of the biggest arms in the Twins system, with a fastball that touched 97 mph at times and a mid-80s power slider. However, the 22-year-old Morlan loses fastball command when he throws that hard, and the Twins had him focused on command with a heater in the low 90s, averaging 92-93 mph. His slider remains a plus pitch; at times it has excellent two-plane depth and touches 86 mph, making it a true strikeout offering. Morlan's fastball lacks significant life, and he doesn't command the strike zone with it. While he had success in the Arizona Fall League, with 12 scoreless outings, he walked six in 12 2/3 innings, and the Twins believed his lack of fastball command—due to persistent over-throwing and over-rotating in his delivery—limited his ceiling to that of setup man, rather than closer.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/m...pbp&pid=461851

I'd definitely pick him up if he's available when the Reds pick.

Morlan saw a significant drop in his velocity this year. He was working 88-90 and his slider was in the high 70's to low 80's at the end of the season. I am not sure I would take a chance on him at this point.

[OnBaseMachine]

I was unaware of the velocity drop. Thanks Doug.

[camisadelgolf]

About Guevara, he was offered to the Reds, and the Reds traded him for cash or a PTBNL. In other words, the Padres paid $50,000 to draft him, and they paid more money (but probably not much more) to keep him.

[lollipopcurve]

About Guevara, he was offered to the Reds, and the Reds traded him for cash or a PTBNL. In other words, the Padres paid $50,000 to draft him, and they paid more money (but probably not much more) to keep him.

And he is not on the Padres' 40-man roster. They're probably hoping to recoup their investment in this year's Rule V.

[Ben]

Is Lofgren hurt? If not, he'd be my pick in Rule V

[RED VAN HOT]

Is Lofgren hurt? If not, he'd be my pick in Rule V

I may not understand all of the nuances of Rule 5, but it seems to me that the Reds may draft more than one. They have the roster space to do it. For $50K per pick they can have a look at them in the spring and determine if one can be carried for a season.

[RedlegJake]

I may not understand all of the nuances of Rule 5, but it seems to me that the Reds may draft more than one. They have the roster space to do it. For $50K per pick they can have a look at them in the spring and determine if one can be carried for a season.

Sure, and if they don't pan out for the 25 man you can offer them back for half that. If you really like the player quite often an inexpensive deal can be worked out. Cash or PTBNL, as in Guevara's case.

[camisadelgolf]

I may not understand all of the nuances of Rule 5, but it seems to me that the Reds may draft more than one. They have the roster space to do it. For $50K per pick they can have a look at them in the spring and determine if one can be carried for a season.

I could be wrong, but I believe there are two rounds to the Major League portion of the draft.

[princeton]

I could be wrong, but I believe there are two rounds to the Major League portion of the draft.

there can be more than two rounds. there simply can be no more than 40 rounds, because a team has to have a 40 man roster spot for each pick, and must pick one player in each round.

JimBo picked three players one year.