Shack, Kata and Willie B cut

[Dunner44]

From Marc:

SARASOTA -- One more round of cuts today took out Brian Shackelford, Matt Kata and William Bergolla.

Shack took the news particularly hard, but in the end the trouble he had throwing strikes this spring probably was his undoing.

This round of cuts jibed with my roster projection in today's paper, which was nice, but we've got a long way to go before Monday. I still think something's brewing, but I'm not sure what.

Anyway, just to go on record when I get something wrong, this is my projection as it stands right now (note that Jerry is "99 percent" sure he'll carry 12 pitchers):

Catchers (3) -- LaRue, Valentin, Ross
Infielders (6) -- Aurilia, Encarnacion, Freel, Hatteberg, Lopez, Womack
Outfielders (4) -- Dunn, Griffey, Kearns, McCracken
Pitchers (12) -- Arroyo, Belisle, Burns, Claussen, Coffey, Hammond, Harang, Mercker, Milton, Weathers, White, Williams

No surprises there...

[Heath]

Options
Options
Options

even money has Shack back in Cincinnati first.

[redsmetz]

Are they all out of options? I know Kata is, but are Shackleford and Bergolla?

We'll see how the waivers go and see if they choose to stay in the system or go elsewhere. Not sure I care one way or the other.

[flyer85]

Originally Posted by redsmetz

Are they all out of options? I know Kata is, but are Shackleford and Bergolla?

on the broadcast the other night one of the Reds announcers said Kata still had an option.

[Danny Serafini]

Originally Posted by redsmetz

Are they all out of options? I know Kata is, but are Shackleford and Bergolla?

We'll see how the waivers go and see if they choose to stay in the system or go elsewhere. Not sure I care one way or the other.

All three have options remaining.

[redsfan30]

So are they at 31 now?

[Dunner44]

They're at 33... but two instaly on the DL, so yeah, 31. If LaRue DLs, which may be smart if they want to keep Ross, then 30. But if LaRue is ready to go, and is healthy, hes worth more than an increased chance to keep Ross.

[redsfan30]

There's got to be a trade coming.

Has to be.

[flyer85]

Originally Posted by redsfan30

There's got to be a trade coming.

Has to be.

or it could simply be some waiver claims. Krivsky when talking with Georgie Boy the other night stated that he expected to see a lot waiver claims this week.

[RedsManRick]

Do you really think McCracken has the inside track on the 4th OF spot? I don't know much about him defensively, but it seems like Brian Buchanan is the better offensive player and is a few years younger.

McCracken (36) - Switch
Career: .276/.337/.375
ST: .370/.408/.391

Buchanan (33) - Righty
Career: .258/.328/.439
ST: .553/.553/.895 (21/38 with 10 2b & 1 HR)

If they're looking for a defensive replacement and flexibility, I imagine they go with McCracken. If they go with Buck. With Kearns and Freel able to play CF capably, I would hope they'd go with the better bat. My gut tells me McCracken is probably the guy though -- especially if Narron makes the call.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Dunner44

From Marc:

Pitchers (12) -- Arroyo, Belisle, Burns, Claussen, Coffey, Hammond, Harang, Mercker, Milton, Weathers, White, Williams

No surprises there...

I'd have to say that I'd be at least mildly surprised if they send Ryan Wagner to Louisville and take Rick White north with them.

Wagner doesn't seem like he's had a particularly bad spring, all things considered, and when he's on his game he's one of the better bullpen options the Reds have. I have to wonder what else time at AAA would do for him? He's a two pitch pitcher and it's a little late to think about adding any more wrinkles to his game. I guess maybe to let him get more work in and work on throwing strikes.

Who knows what this team is thinking anymore.

[Dunner44]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

I'd have to say that I'd be at least mildly surprised if they send Ryan Wagner to Louisville and take Rick White north with them.

Wagner doesn't seem like he's had a particularly bad spring, all things considered, and when he's on his game he's one of the better bullpen options the Reds have. I have to wonder what else time at AAA would do for him? He's a two pitch pitcher and it's a little late to think about adding any more wrinkles to his game. I guess maybe to let him get more work in and work on throwing strikes.

Who knows what this team is thinking anymore.

Sorry, the no surprises there comment was made before I edited the quote. Originally it just said Kata, Bergolla and Shack were optioned. I think it would be a crying shame if Wagner didn't make the roster. You don't need a lot of pitches to close, just some velocity and command and some scrappiness. Ryan fits the bill. White, IMHO, has shown me nothing. Wags was very efficent last night in 2 innings of work.

[Kc61]

Originally Posted by Dunner44

Sorry, the no surprises there comment was made before I edited the quote. Originally it just said Kata, Bergolla and Shack were optioned. I think it would be a crying shame if Wagner didn't make the roster. You don't need a lot of pitches to close, just some velocity and command and some scrappiness. Ryan fits the bill. White, IMHO, has shown me nothing. Wags was very efficent last night in 2 innings of work.

Last spring I too thought Wagner should close. Then came 2005 and his 6.11 ERA. No thanks.

I wouldn't mind seeing Wagner spend two months in AAA developing some consistency, something he has sorely lacked in the major leagues. Even if he makes the Reds he has a lot to prove before he is a closer candidate.

[traderumor]

I remember seeing, perhaps in last night's game thread, that Williams was being sent to extended ST. That didn't make sense at the time, since I don't think sucking is a reason you can elect to do that, but anyone know what's going on there.

And I've already said it, Wagner not making the team is a mistake. Eat some money on White if you have to or get rid of some redundancy (Mercker or Hammond, I'm talking about you) and get some value from a team desperate for some bullpen help that is ready to contend

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by traderumor

I remember seeing, perhaps in last night's game thread, that Williams was being sent to extended ST. That didn't make sense at the time, since I don't think sucking is a reason you can elect to do that, but anyone know what's going on there.

Marty made the comment that Dave Williams would not be heading north the with the ballclub for opening day, but would (instead) be staying with the extended spring training group to get extra work in before flying back to Cincinnati before his first scheduled start (whatever day the 5th starter is first needed).

There seems to be a lot of jiggerypoker going on with the roster right now -- extra players being taken north just in case a deal is made, some players being left in Florida even though they've made the roster. Somebody is going to hate their job trying to keep the 25/40 man rosters current on ESPN.com.