Reds sign Jack Hannahan 2yr/$4MM

[RedEye]

Can we all get the spelling of his name down now, prior to the signing? It's H-A-N-N-A-H-A-N. ;-)

[Matt700wlw]

Done deal.

1 year, $2M

[WildcatFan]

Nice signing. Felt way more comfortable with him than Burris.

[Kc61]

Hannahan hits righties ok. Jason Donald sometimes hits lefties ok.

[WVRedsFan]

Worrying about the backups is like worrying about 12/21/2012. Useless.

[OnBaseMachine]

Not a bad guy to have on the bench.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by WVRedsFan

Worrying about the backups is like worrying about 12/21/2012. Useless.

I'll remember that when Frazier is injured or slumping

[Matt700wlw]

Back in the day, this would be the big move of the offseason....

[REDREAD]

Originally Posted by Matt700wlw

Back in the day, this would be the big move of the offseason....

Yep, there'd be a press conference, we'd all pray that he could "find himself" and turn into a middle of the order run producer.

It's sure nice now to sign guys like this for the bench.

Nice move. He's obviously a backup player, but not an embarrassment to send to the plate as a LH pinch hitter (as some of the Reds LH bench hitters before XPaul were last year).

All that's left for Walt to do is find another LH reliever for the pen

[Benihana]

This is really nit picking as I couldn't be happier with the state of the Reds and Walt Jocketty, but am I missing something here?

$2MM for a (obviously backup) corner infielder who has a .671 career OPS and never hit double digit HR in a season? I'd think they could replicate his production for less with a Henry Rodriguez, Beau Mills or Neftali Soto, let alone bringing Rolen back for one more go-round.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Benihana

$2MM for a (obviously backup) corner infielder who has a .671 career OPS and never hit double digit HR in a season? I'd think they could replicate his production for less with a Henry Rodriguez, Beau Mills or Neftali Soto, let alone bringing Rolen back for one more go-round.

They just took the money out of the Choo windfall

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by Benihana

This is really nit picking as I couldn't be happier with the state of the Reds and Walt Jocketty, but am I missing something here?

$2MM for a (obviously backup) corner infielder who has a .671 career OPS and never hit double digit HR in a season? I'd think they could replicate his production for less with a Henry Rodriguez, Beau Mills or Neftali Soto, let alone bringing Rolen back for one more go-round.

I think it's more about the depth. If H-Rod went down, some of these other guys dont offer much position flexibility, or proven ability to do much of anything at the major league level. Nice to have some options.

Hannahan doesn't do much of anything very well, but he can play numerous positions at a more than adequate level, and can handle the bat to a degree that is better than pure suck.

It balances out to being an above replacement level player, which besides H-Rod, I can't say the same about the other options. The $2M to Hannahan wont hold the Reds back from doing something more constructive. As a team looking to contend again, it would suck to lose a win or two on the margins of the roster because we cheaped out and let sub replacement fodder get overexposed to playing time if/when injuries hit.

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by Patrick Bateman

I think it's more about the depth. If H-Rod went down, some of these other guys dont offer much position flexibility, or proven ability to do much of anything at the major league level. Nice to have some options.

Hannahan doesn't do much of anything very well, but he can play numerous positions at a more than adequate level, and can handle the bat to a degree that is better than pure suck.

It balances out to being an above replacement level player, which besides H-Rod, I can't say the same about the other options. The $2M to Hannahan wont hold the Reds back from doing something more constructive. As a team looking to contend again, it would suck to lose a win or two on the margins of the roster because we cheaped out and let sub replacement fodder get overexposed to playing time if/when injuries hit.

Fair point, but why not just give H-Rod the opportunity? It's not like he's a huge prospect that we'd be spoiling by not playing everyday, but at the sametime, he is a switch-hitter who would be useful as a pinch-hitter, and 3B is his natural position. Then you save the $2MM to acquire someone if you really need them due to an injury, rather than spending it on someone who can't really fill in fulltime if Frazier or Votto goes down.

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by Benihana

Fair point, but why not just give H-Rod the opportunity? It's not like he's a huge prospect that we'd be spoiling by not playing everyday, but at the sametime, he is a switch-hitter who would be useful as a pinch-hitter, and 3B is his natural position. Then you save the $2MM to acquire someone if you really need them due to an injury, rather than spending it on someone who can't really fill in fulltime if Frazier or Votto goes down.

What if H-Rod has an awful spring and doesn't look like he can do the job?

There might not be many guys available that late, and if so, it might cost a propsect in addition to the 2M.

The way I see it, both guys will get plenty of usage. If anyone of Donald, Phillips, Frazier, Hannahan, Cozart, Votto go down, then H-Rod is the first to get called up. We'll need more than one guy, and considering H-Rod is still minor league eligible, it makes more sense to add a guy to the major league mix right now, otherwise the type of talent you are going to find at this point that is willing to start the year in the minor leagues is going to be of the replacement level talent.

[M2]

Originally Posted by Benihana

This is really nit picking as I couldn't be happier with the state of the Reds and Walt Jocketty, but am I missing something here?

$2MM for a (obviously backup) corner infielder who has a .671 career OPS and never hit double digit HR in a season? I'd think they could replicate his production for less with a Henry Rodriguez, Beau Mills or Neftali Soto, let alone bringing Rolen back for one more go-round.

I suspect the Reds paid because they view Hannahan as a particularly good fit. His glove is outstanding. Late in a ballgame the Reds can put arguably the best IF defense in baseball on the field. He also can spell Frazier against tough RHPs. He's thoroughly non-redundant.