Scott Downs Available: Reds Interested

[BringDownMugabe]

Competition For Scott Downs Heating Up
By Luke Adams [July 25, 2010 at 9:14am CST]
The competition in the Scott Downs sweepstakes is "fierce," tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi suggests that the Yankees and the Red Sox are the current front-runners, but that the Mets, Reds, and Twins are also involved.

In a year where the bullpen options are scarce, Downs stands out as not only the top left-handed arm available among an underwhelming group of southpaws, but also as one of the best overall relievers on the market. As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out when he examined Downs' trade value, the lefty seems headed for Type A designation, meaning he could potentially be worth a pair of draft picks for whichever team he finishes the year with.

Besides the clubs Morosi names, the Dodgers, Rockies, and Phillies are among others that have been linked to Downs this month.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/cincin...eds/index.html

Definitely could use a veteran reliever who is posting a 2.45 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 3.44 K/BB ratio. But it'd probably cost a good penny, considering he's one of the best bullpen arms available in a bad market.

[GIDP]

Him being a type A wont make the price cheap.

[RedsFanInBama]

I'd love to get him, but based on the teams (reportedly) going after him, it will take an awful lot. We do need another solid lefty. I'm not counting on Chapman helping.

[ian_madden]

If you were Toronto, would you do a deal with the Reds? Or would you package Downs and EE to get rid of EE and stick it to us. If I was Toronto's GM, I would not do any deals with the Reds for years. Or I would overcharge the Reds, seriously overcharge. Hell I'm a Reds fan and I feel like we still owe them something.

[Griffey012]

If you were Toronto, would you do a deal with the Reds? Or would you package Downs and EE to get rid of EE and stick it to us. If I was Toronto's GM, I would not do any deals with the Reds for years. Or I would overcharge the Reds, seriously overcharge. Hell I'm a Reds fan and I feel like we still owe them something.

Baseball trades generally work like an open market, with Jocketty being an experienced and successful GM, he will not overpay for Downs. So if Toronto tries to stick it to us for the EE+Stewart for Rolen deal they just won't have a trade with us.

The Jays wanted to get out from Rolen's owed money most importantly in the deal, and that was successfully done. Rolen was not part of their future.

[Kingspoint]

Him being a type A wont make the price cheap.

It almost guarantees that he won't be traded at all to anyone.

[Hondo]

If you were Toronto, would you do a deal with the Reds? Or would you package Downs and EE to get rid of EE and stick it to us. If I was Toronto's GM, I would not do any deals with the Reds for years. Or I would overcharge the Reds, seriously overcharge. Hell I'm a Reds fan and I feel like we still owe them something.

Yeah, Toronto was all about getting Rolen's contract off the Books...

[Dale4Saul2Red0]

Been calling for this since they started talking about the trade deadline.

[cinreds21]

Yea the price is crazy steep for Downs. I talked to a scout with Toronto who was scouting the Double-A Dodgers (Chattanooga) and he was looking at their number one (Dee Gordon) Number two (Chris Withrow) three, (Aaron Miller), and number 14 (Kenley Jansen) as a potential package for Downs. Not all but probably two of them.
I think they're asking for too much and I wouldn't wanna give up Frazier or Alonso for Scott Downs, or any reliever for that matter.

[Hondo]

I would just pass on Downs... NOT WORTH The level of prospects. Would rather package them for a long term player.

[Lockdwn11]

He is 34 years old, 35 in March. What does that do to his ability to sign a FA contract next season IF someone (Reds potentially) has offered him arbitration? They'd have to give up a 1st rounder for a 35 year old reliever and a 2 yr or better contract. So it's possible that if you count on someone offering him a better contract than what he would make accepting arbitration from you, you could be wrong. It doesn't make it a slam dunk that you get your 2 1st rounders, maybe you get another year of Scott Downs instead. Will the Reds take that chance? Just something to consider. On the positive end it's something Toronto, a non contending team has to think about as well, which might mean it'll take less to get him than 1st thought.