Shortstop wishlist

[Brutus]

I've decided to write out a Christmas wish list to give Santa Claus this December. Even in your late 20's, you're never too old to hope Santa leaves a nice shortstop gift under your tree.

So to my letter addressed to the North Pole, I ask Mr. Cringle for at least someone on this list (the higher the better)...

1. Yunel Escobar. While there are continued rumors the Braves think Escobar has been naughty, he would look rather nice in a Reds' uniform. Clearly if Bobby Cox's doghouse leaves Escobar with a lump of coal this December, the Reds will have to stand in line as if they were waiting for a PS3, Furby or the early 80's Cabbage Patch craze. The ransom, if the Braves choose to trade Escobar, might be too great. But a boy can dream, right?

2. J.J. Hardy. The Brew Crew has tired of their toy and now they're moving on to the new one (Escobar). They were nice enough, however, to polish it up before sending it on to the flea market. While Hardy can be had without arguably standing in line at 4 AM before the Black Friday rush, the Brewers most definitely won't give him away. He's the most realistic, most economical and most beneficial, however, of all the shortstop options. Hopefully we find a young, blond beauty to sit on Santa's lap and provoke the old man to deliver the goods on this one.

3. Miguel Tejada. Simply trading Encarnacion for the upgrade to Scott Rolen was Christmas in July for the Reds. Signing Tejada this offseason, if Old Saint Castellini loads the stockings, might be the equivalent of buying some kid a Play Station 2 this December. Sure, it's outdated, and it's not as good as the newer, shinier systems that have advanced gaming into another generation, but it is still fun to play with. Tejada can still swing the bat, and still flash some leather. The money might be too great for this, without cutting back on the turkey dinners this holiday season.

4. Erick Aybar/Maicer Izturis/Brandon Wood. The Angels have to spread the wealth. Seriously, California, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Angels of Anaheim or whatever it is you're calling yourselves these days - share your freakin' toys. I'll let you pick which one you want to give Cincinnati. You're the over-privileged parents spoiling kids with a second bicycle just because you can. Hopefully Secret Santa takes this case.

5. Chone Figgins. Has anyone considered signing him as a shortstop? Is it worth the experiment? If yes to the first two questions, how much of the North Pole would need to be mortgaged to sign him? Results, mostly due to sample size, are so woefully inconclusive regarding his value at short defensively. More than likely, he's a below average defender at that position. But his solid history of avoiding outs makes him an intriguing option for a conversion, if you ask me.

6. Marco Scutaro. Regression to the mean can be as heartbreaking as waking up Christmas morning to find a barren tree, void of gifts and decorations. The Reds would probably need to leave some extra milk and cookies for Santa to deliver another 2009-like season for Scutaro next season. The 33-year old set career marks in OBP and Slugging. It's not likely that will repeat, and it might see someone overpaying for that unrepeatable production. But nonetheless, if signed at the right price, his career rates in isolation are still an upgrade.

7. Jason Bartlett. Who am I kidding, Bartlett would easily be among the top 2-3 on this list ordinarily, but even Santa has his threshold for realistic gift requests. I don't see Reid Brignac pushing Bartlett out of the way anytime in the near future, though I suppose the cost-conscious Rays could scare at the thought of a generous raise in Arbitration this season. Eh. Most likely Upton, Iwamura or even Crawford would be on the chopping block before Bartlett. This ain't even on Santa's radar. But I'll attach him as a postscript.

8. Khalil Greene. Just joking. Little bit of holiday humor.

9. Clint Barmes. No, I'm not totally kidding on this one. Eric Young Junya is about to steal second (pun intended on all fronts). Barmes is left without a position. That's an expensive utility player for an Arbitration-eligible player nearing 25 homers. OK, so Barmes doesn't get on base at an ideal rate. But he flashes some pretty good leather and provides some decent power. This would have less a bitter taste than sour eggnog. It wouldn't be the White Christmas Bing Crosby was dreaming of, but it would be jolly.

10. Paul Janish. Back to reality. You're a mean one, Mister Grinch. The king of sinful sots. And thank you for stealing my Christmas, and assuredly giving me the last name on the list.

[BCubb2003]

Paul Janish is the socks in your stocking. Don't you like your new leftfielder? You know things have been kind of tight for the family this year ...

[toledodan]

funny stuff but so well played. i'm sure the front office will give us a piece of coal this winter.

[mth123]

Nice list. Some thoughts:

1. Escobar would be great, but I'm not sure that the Braves will be taking on any money. The Reds have the 1B situation with Votto and Alonso, but the Braves have a 1B of the future of their own, so I doubt they'd be looking there. They have needs in the rotation and the pen, but I doubt they want Arroyo, Harang or Cordero due to budget constraints. That leaves young pitching. Bailey and Cueto are out IMO as the Reds need them to be the guys to step forward. This is where dealing away Zach Stewart hurts. He would be a nice match-up in this deal. I doubt the group of Owings, Maloney, Ramirez, Lecure holds much interest for them and the Braves are loaded with outfield help in the minor leagues. I just don't see a likely match-up. Possibly Travis Wood, a reliever like Fisher or Viola and say Todd Frazier to groom as a replacement for Chipper could at least get their attention, but I'd guess the Braves could do better.

2. Hardy is problematic as well. The Reds really can't afford his arb money and don't have good matching dollars to send back the other way. The Brewers are looking to unload some cash to free up budget space for a top starter. The trick to this deal might be finding a way to swap salaries with Milwaukee while giving them young guys that could allow other big money guys to walk. One idea might involve CF so that the Brewers could let Cameron walk while using his money for an arm. Here is the type of deal I think it may take for it to work in both team's budgets. The Reds get Hardy and David Riske the Brewers get Willy T, Chris Dickerson, MIke Lincoln and a bunch of kids say Wood, Viola and maybe a bat like Francisco, Soto or Frazier. The Brewers would probably also want Janish in case they need an alternative should Escobar tank. The Brewers use Willy and Dickerson as a CF platoon while letting Cameron walk. The Riske/Lincoln swap saves the Brewers $2.5 Million and a guy like Francisco, Soto or Frazier might provide some insurance should they move forward with plans to deal Fielder. IN all the Brewers could remove the salaries of Hardy (nearly $5 Million), Riske ($5 Million), Cameron ($10 Million) while adding Willy and Lincoln and a couple minimum guys (say $7.5 Million). That $12 to $13 Million free'd up might go a long way toward adding a top starter. The Reds would be adding $10 Million or so for Riske (who won't pitch until at least June) and Hardy while freeing up around $7.5 Million by moving Taveras, Lincoln, Dickerson, Janish and some kids. Its the type of deal that both teams need to pursue for monetary reasons, but the Brewers could probably do better. If the Reds included Stubbs instead of Dickerson/Willy while leaving the Lincoln/Riske portion of the deal out of it, the Brewers would be more likely to do this deal, but the Reds probably couldn't add the bucks.

3. Not really interested in Tejada. Not enough glove and with Rolen, moving him to 3rd isn't an option.

4. I'd love to get one of the Angels guys, but I doubt they'll be available. My guess is they let Figgins walk while Wood plays 3B, Aybar starts at SS and Izturis continues in his top sub role.

5. Figgins probably will make more than the Reds can afford and I have no idea if he can play SS.

6. Scutaro is the type of move this team usually makes - overpaying for a mid 30s aged guy coming off a career year. This year they don't have the money. In this case it works in the Reds favor IMO.

7. Bartlett would be nice. I can't see the Reds having much to offer the Rays. They won't pay for our veterans and they already have kids better than ours. I'm guessing Bartlett stays while Brignac becomes the odd man out and may be obtainable but I really struggle with who TB would want that wouldn't be an overpayment. They might be interested in somebody like Burton in a deal for Brignac. Josh Roenicke may have been a good fit here.

8.

9. Barmes is an interesting thought. His OBP is pretty low at .285. I'm guessing they non-tender Garret Atkins and keep Barmes as a supersub who can fill in anywhere in the IF (they may let him play some OF as well. Guys who can play SS usually can play anywhere except maybe catcher). Both Tulowitzki and Helton miss a lot of games and Ian Stewart has had some back issues this year and missed some time, so I'd guess there is room to keep Barmes even if Young takes over at 2B. Barmes would also provide insurance in case Young tanks.

10. I'm starting to think Janish may end up with the job. His bat has been a little better, but I still think he'll struggle big time. I think somewhere around a .600 OPS should be the expectation for him.

[membengal]

Is it worth wondering if Cozart has enough of a stick to be better than Janish and a help should they decide to stay in-house?

[kpresidente]

2. Hardy is problematic as well. The Reds really can't afford his arb money and don't have good matching dollars to send back the other way. The Brewers are looking to unload some cash to free up budget space for a top starter. The trick to this deal might be finding a way to swap salaries with Milwaukee while giving them young guys that could allow other big money guys to walk. One idea might involve CF so that the Brewers could let Cameron walk while using his money for an arm. Here is the type of deal I think it may take for it to work in both team's budgets. The Reds get Hardy and David Riske the Brewers get Willy T, Chris Dickerson, MIke Lincoln and a bunch of kids say Wood, Viola and maybe a bat like Francisco, Soto or Frazier. The Brewers would probably also want Janish in case they need an alternative should Escobar tank. The Brewers use Willy and Dickerson as a CF platoon while letting Cameron walk. The Riske/Lincoln swap saves the Brewers $2.5 Million and a guy like Francisco, Soto or Frazier might provide some insurance should they move forward with plans to deal Fielder. IN all the Brewers could remove the salaries of Hardy (nearly $5 Million), Riske ($5 Million), Cameron ($10 Million) while adding Willy and Lincoln and a couple minimum guys (say $7.5 Million). That $12 to $13 Million free'd up might go a long way toward adding a top starter. The Reds would be adding $10 Million or so for Riske (who won't pitch until at least June) and Hardy while freeing up around $7.5 Million by moving Taveras, Lincoln, Dickerson, Janish and some kids. Its the type of deal that both teams need to pursue for monetary reasons, but the Brewers could probably do better. If the Reds included Stubbs instead of Dickerson/Willy while leaving the Lincoln/Riske portion of the deal out of it, the Brewers would be more likely to do this deal, but the Reds probably couldn't add the bucks.

Good idea, but why not just go Stubbs/Taveras for Hardy? A Dickerson/Heisey platoon in CF would be more productive than Stubbs every will, anyway.

[mth123]

Is it worth wondering if Cozart has enough of a stick to be better than Janish and a help should they decide to stay in-house?

I think so, but I'd guess Cozart will need to satisfy the Reds with a good couple of months in AAA before he'll pass Janish on the depth chart. Not sure I agree, but I'm guessing the Reds think this way. The Reds aren't totally off base if they do think like this. Cozart's bat is pretty iffy also.

[mth123]

Good idea, but why not just go Stubbs/Taveras for Hardy. A Dickerson/Heisey platoon in CF would be more productive than Stubbs every will, anyway.

I'm guessing the Brewers would want a lefty/righty thing if they take Taveras. With Stubbs/Taveras, then Willy gets buried and there is no possibility of him regaining any value and the Brewers moving a portion of those dollars. But hey, its all just having fun with stuff. If they want Stubbs a lot more than Dickerson, then they probably wouldn't care. They probably wouldn't take Willy anyway. My deal was an example of the type of deal required to make the money work for both teams. I don't really see the Brewers settling for any deal where they get Willy. Maybe Stubbs/Lincoln.

Stubbs/Taveras to MIL would work from the Reds standpoint IMO. I like the Dickerson/Heisey platoon as providing plenty of value for the Reds and Stubbs would probably bring the most back in trade. May have to be a different deal though.

[jojo]

I can't imagine the Reds could get anything back for Taveras.

The Brewers will likely trade Hardy for something that helps them.

Taking on Taveras and Lincoln? I don't see why the Brewers would do that.

[_Sir_Charles_]

I can't imagine the Reds could get anything back for Taveras.

The Brewers will likely trade Hardy for something that helps them.

Taking on Taveras and Lincoln? I don't see why the Brewers would do that.

Did the Brewers hire Jim Bowden when I wasn't paying attention?

[kpresidente]

You guys are missing the point. I'm assuming Stubbs and Hardy are more or less equal value. Taveras just evens the money out for both sides, but in the end, the Brewers still save because netting a CF means they let Cameron and his $10M option go. It's a $6M net for them, plus they get a long-term CF. That's their motivation for the deal.

[mth123]

I can't imagine the Reds could get anything back for Taveras.

The Brewers will likely trade Hardy for something that helps them.

Taking on Taveras and Lincoln? I don't see why the Brewers would do that.

As I said, its an example of the type of deal the Reds need to do to be able to afford Hardy. I don't think the Brewers would really take Taveras and probably only Lincoln if they could unload Riske in the deal. The Brewers prime motivation is to free up money to make a run at a top starter.

The Brewers may not get much more than Stubbs though. Hardy is a nearly $5 Million player who had a horrible year and got demoted. They may have trouble getting as much value for him as you think. Stubbs for Hardy straight-up is probably pretty fair, but the Reds can't afford it.

[mth123]

You guys are missing the point. I'm assuming Stubbs and Hardy are more or less equal value. Taveras just evens the money out for both sides, but in the end, the Brewers still save because netting a CF means they let Cameron and his $10M option go. It's a $6M net for them, plus they get a long-term CF. That's their motivation for the deal.

I agree. I think the reds would need to add some kids though. Stubbs for Hardy and a couple guys from the Viola, Fisher, Soto, Frazier or Francisco group to get them to take Willy to even up the money.

[OnBaseMachine]

Yunel Escobar, J.J. Hardy, Jason Bartlett/Reid Brignac, and Erick Aybar in no particular order.

[kpresidente]

I agree. I think the reds would need to add some kids though. Stubbs for Hardy and a couple guys from the Viola, Fisher, Soto, Frazier or Francisco group to get them to take Willy to even up the money.

Sure, sure. But not Frazier or Soto. Those guys have value to the Reds. So do Fisher and Viola. I'd say more like Maloney, Ramirez or Francisco, because I don't see how those guys fit into our long-term plans.