The Broxton trade ship has sailed for this year.
It's still enticing, except Lecure and Hoover have not been set-up-man quality; Parra's been less than healthy; and you need more than Chapman and perhaps Diaz in the late innings.
I think right now Brox is a necessity. Funny how contracts, trades, non-trades, are fluid -- some years they seem terrible, some years they seem very good.
Always Red (08-07-2014),REDREAD (08-07-2014)
I have no issue whatsoever with Broxton being on this team, especially given the season that he's having.
Always Red (08-08-2014),CySeymour (08-07-2014),Old school 1983 (08-07-2014),RedFanAlways1966 (08-07-2014),RedlegJake (08-07-2014),REDREAD (08-07-2014),Trajinous (08-07-2014)
Yep. Totally agree. I don't get the Broxton contract gripes. Gripe when you aren't getting good value, not when a guy has been your 2nd best reliever and part of a duo that has been the only steady part of the pen this year. Trading Brox to unload his contract would be a clear sign of giving up this season - to fans and players. His age, his dollars, his health history all work to preclude getting value for value in a deal - he's the epitome of a player that adds more by staying than you'd get by dealing.
99% of all numbers only tell 33% of the story so when looking at the numbers remember that numbers is plural...
Always Red (08-08-2014),alwaysawarrior (08-08-2014),BuckeyeRedleg (08-07-2014),cumberlandreds (08-08-2014),jimbo (08-07-2014),Old school 1983 (08-07-2014),REDREAD (08-07-2014)
I don't get the trade Broxton talk at all. There have to be other ways to free up money. Contrary to popular belief reliever like Chapman and Broxton do not grow on trees because every now and then a guy can pull a nobody or reclamation project out of a hat and they put up similar numbers. We saw the wreck the pen was without them earlier in the year. It may very we'll be the difference between a playoff berth or not this season. Guys like Hoover, Ondrusek and even LeCure are more expendable in the new age of pitching. But guys that can be late game guys like Chapman, Broxton, and if I may add emerging in Diaz need to stay around. It's nice to get bargain basement lightning in a bottle but to win sometimes you have to pay for performance and worry less about value.
RedlegJake (08-07-2014),REDREAD (08-08-2014)
True. But for a team in the Reds' financial bracket (whatever that exactly is) it's arguable that Broxton costs too much and the Reds need a cheaper set up man alternative.
And it's also arguable that Brox is due for a regression based on peripherals; and could now get the Reds a very good prospect in return.
However, any trade of Brox requires a number of moves to re-set the bullpen. Reds aren't in a position in August to re-make the team. LOL, it seems hard for them to pull one trigger, let alone several, right now.
Our bullpen would look completely awful without Broxton in it this year. Complain about the the money all you want, I don't believe it is holding back the Reds in anyway.
Old school 1983 (08-07-2014),REDREAD (08-08-2014)
The older I get - the better I was
and yes - I hate the Cardinals (Reds fan since 1958)
I miss Raisor
Old school 1983 (08-07-2014),REDREAD (08-08-2014),redsmetz (08-08-2014),Trajinous (08-07-2014)
Even if he regresses, what does he regress to? A guy with an ERA in the 2s instead of the 1s? I'd take that from any pitcher. Broxton is far from a problem and the player you get back or him plus what you could get for his salary probably doesn't leave you with much other than rearranging the pen to compensate for the loss of Broxton.
It's not about him becoming unproductive, it's the fact that he is one of the few large contracts this team has that actually might have some value to other teams. They have plenty of arms available for the pen next year.
I don't want to get rid of Broxton's productivity, but a team with a 100M payroll can't afford to pay a guy 9M to throw 50-70 setup innings.
Why are people so hellbent on worrying about what the Reds' employers are paying employees? It clearly hasn't impacted their ability to win games (the Reds are 7th in MLB in wins since 2010). It's odd to me people are apparently more concerned with someone else's payroll obligations than keeping talent around.
'Case a few of you haven't noticed, the Reds are not out of the playoff race.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
Big Klu (08-08-2014),dubc47834 (08-08-2014),Old school 1983 (08-08-2014),REDREAD (08-08-2014),redsmetz (08-08-2014)
If you want quality you have to pay for it. I imagine Castillini and Jockety plus the financial staff know how much money to spend. Brox was money well spent unlike Skipper and other examples (Hannahan, cough, cough).
www.ris-news.com
"You only have to bat a thousand in two things; flying and heart transplants. Everything else you can go 4-for-5."
-Beano Cook
REDREAD (08-08-2014)
But it has impacted there ability to acquire other players. The GM has basically said so multiple times. To ignore the money is like looking at the situation with only a partial view. There are lots of solid relievers who go for cheap every off-season (this year K-Rod was probably the best example). Churning the roster is something the team needs to do when guys get expensive and aren't the core building blocks (and the 8th inning guy isn't). Ideally, you deal them for a couple of cheap kids on the brink and then use the money to fill another hole. The player exiting hurts a bit, but the reallocation of funds and the influx of young cheap guys makes the team better.
Now isn't the time though. If the Reds fall out of it by the end of the month, then sticking Brox on waivers to clear some cash will make sense. Right now, ride that horse.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Edd Roush (08-08-2014),kpresidente (08-08-2014),redsfandan (08-08-2014),Revering4Blue (08-08-2014)
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. -- Carl Sagan (Pale Blue Dot)
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