Reds sign Orlando Cabrera to one-year, $3M deal; option for second year

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by TheNext44

When I said that he will be doing a lot of late inning replacement, I meant that, along with some starts, although they might not all be at SS. Jocketty said a few time that he would get "lots of playing time."

Maybe they see him as expendable, but if you're going on what Jocketty said, Janish will be more than just a back up. He seemed to say that they will still be trying to groom him as an eventual starter.

Of course he's going to say that. He's not going to come out and tell everyone that Janish is there in case Cabrera doesn't hit and in the field makes us wish for the halcyon days of Felipe Lopez. He's also insurance in case Cabrera gets hurt but LOU is 90 minutes away if you need someone like that. Janish's role is going to be basically the same as Juan Castro's was when he was here. We know Janish can do the job defensively but we also know he can't hit water if he fell out of a boat. So how is Janish going to develop as a hitter if he doesn't get to hit on a regular basis?

I understand why they don't want to keep Janish in AAA. They have to try to develop Cozart and/or Valaika. If only they could loan Janish out somewhere he could get ABs and not hurt the development of the other two guys then I would believe they are actually trying to groom him as an eventual starter.