Offseason Priorities

[Wonderful Monds]

Originally Posted by LegallyMinded

Chris Young might also be an option. He had a disappointing 2012, largely due to injuries, but his 2010 and 2011 were pretty solid: a .335ish OBP with good defense and decent power. He would certainly be an upgrade over Stubbs, at any rate, considering in 2012 alone, he produced more than twice as many WAR in about 2/3 of the at bats.

Also, Arizona is willing to pay a chunk of his salary to facilitate a trade, and he has a team option for 2014, so if Hamilton looks ready for CF at that point, the Reds can buy out Young and easily make the transition to Hamilton.

I already have said lots of times here I think Chris Young might happen. I'm not personally advocating it, but it's a very Jocketty move.

[Wonderful Monds]

Has anyone considered Melky Cabrera an option? He does carry the scarlet "S", but if he can come cheap on a short contract to prove himself and the team scouts don't think his production will drop off after stopping PED use, he could be an answer.

[Rojo]

The Giants are pretty down on Panda. I have a feeling they'll move him and sign Scutaro. He seems like a guy who could use a little Dusty-love.

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

Originally Posted by Vottomatic

1. Leake, Ondrusek, Chad "Sharky" Rogers for Dexter Fowler. Rockies need pitching badly. Gives them a young starter and a decent minor league pitcher.

2. Cairo and Rolen retire.

3. Trade Chapman/Corcino to Miami for Giancarlo Stanton. (yes, it can be done.....it's the friggin' Marlins organization. They like Cubans for their fanbase. )

4. Re-sign BOTH Broxton AND Madson.

5. Trade Mez and Cingrani to the Rays for Big Game James Shields.

6. Sign Jeff Keppinger as utilityman 2B/3B/1B

Phillips 2B (RH)
Fowler CF (SH)
Votto 1B (LH)
Stanton LF (RH)
Bruce RF (LH)
Frazier 3B (RH)
Hanigan C (RH)
Cozart SS (RH)

Rotation
Cueto
Latos
Shields
Bailey
Arroyo

Bullpen
Madson
Broxton
Marshall
Hoover
LeCure
Simon
Arredondo

Bench
Gregorius SS/ 2B
Keppinger 2B/3B/1B
Heisey OF
Paul OF
Navarro C

Agreed.

My proposal weakens the overall depth in the organization but strengthens the major league team, especially offense, big time.

While I like - love - the idea of acquiring Fowler, Stanton and Shields, there's no way the Reds have the money for that.

And unfortunately, one of the impacts of not making the NLCS will probably be a few fewer season tickets sold for next year. That'll probably keep the payroll in check.

[Vottomatic]

Originally Posted by Rojo

The Giants are pretty down on Panda. I have a feeling they'll move him and sign Scutaro. He seems like a guy who could use a little Dusty-love.

Panda would fit right in with "Dusty's guys". He swings at the first pitch everytime, no matter what.

[Kc61]

Originally Posted by AtomicDumpling

The Reds were very slightly below league average in BA (9th in the 16-team NL), but well below average in OBP (12th in the NL). Votto had a historically high OBP -- a truly remarkable OBP way, way better than anybody else in the league. His batting average was good too, but not to the extent that his OBP was.

Batting average has been proven to be not much of a factor in run scoring. Talking and worrying about batting average is a waste of time. The Reds need to improve their OBP and their SLG if they want to score more runs. Chasing batting average is just as likely to lead you astray as help you. Batting average has two huge flaws (counts all hits the same, ignores BBs and HBPs) that make it pretty much a worthless statistic, especially when you consider there are vastly superior statistics readily available (wOBA being the best and OPS second best).

The Reds can't afford to trade any of their power to improve contact. That would be a losing proposition. The Reds have a little better than average power (SLG 6th in NL), but their power is not good enough to be a top offense. The Reds need a huge boost in OBP and a big boost in SLG if they want to come close to leading the league in runs scored.

The only reason I even mentioned batting average in the earlier post was because people were saying the playoffs exposed an alleged Reds' batting average problem -- even though the Reds had the highest batting average in the playoffs.

Please explain how OBP can be important and BA unimportant. It's illogical.

BA reflects hits per official at bats. Hit percentage is a big part of OBP, it directly feeds into OBP. Anyone who disregards BA, but says OBP is very important, IMO is, well, incorrect.

The Reds have a relatively low BA team. They also have a relatively low OBP team. The two are strongly related.

The Reds need to emphasize OBP and BA more, and can afford a modest reduction in power. This doesn't require trashing the whole lineup, but it does mean adding one significant starting player who gets on base and hits well, even if not for power. Or two.

And, IMO, it means a different mix on the bench.

In the regular season, the Reds BA was .251, league average was .254, Reds OBP was .315, league average was .318. Reds hit total was 1377, league average was 1393. Reds had 879 singles, league average was 927. Reds walked 481 times. League average was 488.

IMO these stats need to improve, particularly when you consider Votto's singular role and how poor these numbers are for the rest of the ballclub.

[DGullett35]

My 4 offseason priorities in no particular order:
1. Resign Luddy
2. Hire a different hitting coach(Im not saying I hate Jacoby but these guys need a different voice)
3. Find a CF that can bat leadoff for a year or 2
4. Sign a utility IF like Keppinger as some have already mentioned. Personally Id like Eric Chavez. Hime and Frazier can split starts at 3rd and Frazier can be our super utility guy. Im just not sold on him playing everyday at 3rd.

Id love to sign either Madson back or Broxton but I dont see it happening. Chappy will stay in the pen and Walt will hope Masset comes back strong and JJ Hoover gets a little bit better in 2013. Just my thoughts

[Rojo]

Maicer Izturus is a FA. He's not a world beater, but can hit .270, swipe a few bags and, importantly, is a true backup infielder who can play 2nd, 3rd and short. That frees up a spot for a bat.

[LegallyMinded]

The Red Sox are desperate for pitching and are rumored to be looking at a Derek Holland for Jacoby Ellsbury trade. I think the Reds might be able to match that offer with one of Bailey or Leake, although Leake might be a stretch. (Here's a comparison of the three starters).

Would it be worth dealing Bailey or Leake, given that 1) Ellsbury is only under team control for one more year and 2) Ellsbury has a considerable injury history? Seems like a high-risk, high-reward move.

[kaldaniels]

Originally Posted by LegallyMinded

The Red Sox are desperate for pitching and are rumored to be looking at a Derek Holland for Jacoby Ellsbury trade. I think the Reds might be able to match that offer with one of Bailey or Leake, although Leake might be a stretch. (Here's a comparison of the three starters).

Would it be worth dealing Bailey or Leake, given that 1) Ellsbury is only under team control for one more year and 2) Ellsbury has a considerable injury history? Seems like a high-risk, high-reward move.

Bailey no. Leake is a non-starter in that conversation.

That said, I'd love to hear what Bailey wants for an extension. Same with Latos. Just to know where things stand.

[Scrap Irony]

If the Sox are willing to bite on a Leake (and Stubbs?) for Ellsbury deal, I'd do it in a minute.

He'd be a great stop-gap to Hamilon and a more than solid leadoff or number two hitter behind/ ahead of Phillips. If he gets hurt, Heisey could play C adequately enough in his stead. Good defensive player as well.

Sure, it's a gamble, but, hey, it's a gamble worth taking.

[Kc61]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

If the Sox are willing to bite on a Leake (and Stubbs?) for Ellsbury deal, I'd do it in a minute.

He'd be a great stop-gap to Hamilon and a more than solid leadoff or number two hitter behind/ ahead of Phillips. If he gets hurt, Heisey could play C adequately enough in his stead. Good defensive player as well.

Sure, it's a gamble, but, hey, it's a gamble worth taking.

Heisey with the .315 OBP, 81 Ks and 18 BBs? Maybe Ellsbury and somebody else.

[Wonderful Monds]

I would probably go Leake & Cingrani for Ellsbury if I had to and it would probably be worth it.

[Vottomatic]

Originally Posted by LegallyMinded

The Red Sox are desperate for pitching and are rumored to be looking at a Derek Holland for Jacoby Ellsbury trade. I think the Reds might be able to match that offer with one of Bailey or Leake, although Leake might be a stretch. (Here's a comparison of the three starters).

Would it be worth dealing Bailey or Leake, given that 1) Ellsbury is only under team control for one more year and 2) Ellsbury has a considerable injury history? Seems like a high-risk, high-reward move.

Ellsbury is a temptation. But his injury history scares the crud out of me. And for 1 year?

Just say no.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by Kc61

Please explain how OBP can be important and BA unimportant. It's illogical.

BA reflects hits per official at bats. Hit percentage is a big part of OBP, it directly feeds into OBP. Anyone who disregards BA, but says OBP is very important, IMO is, well, incorrect.

The Reds have a relatively low BA team. They also have a relatively low OBP team. The two are strongly related.

Batting average is the foundation of more important stats. It's extremely important, but doesn't mean all that much by itself.