Reds Acquire Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Donald for Drew Stubbs and Didi Gregorious

[jhiller21]

I hate to lose Stubbs' speed, but speed doesn't mean much if you can't get on base. Choo is going to work out very nicely until Hamilton is ready. Love this deal.

[Rantly]

Great Deal. Noticed Choo struck out 150 times last year, not exactly a contact hitter but loads better than Stubbs. Hopefully Drew will unleash some of his talent in Cleveland, but not against the Reds

[Pony Boy]

Cliff Corcoran at SI is much more bullish on Choo's prospects of being a decent defensive CF than others that I have read. He writes:

Choo has played just 10 games in center field in the major leagues, the last coming in 2009, but he has been a superlative defensive right fielder with good speed (Choo has stolen 76 bags at a 78 percent success rate over the last four seasons, topping 20 steals in his three healthy campaigns) and one of the best throwing arms in the major leagues, and he’s a massive upgrade in the lineup over Stubbs, whose performance at the plate cratered in 2012...

As for fielding, despite earning rave reviews for his defense in the minor leagues, Stubbs’ defense regressed significantly in the last two seasons, making it entirely possible that Choo could break even in the field, making him close to a pure four-win upgrade for the Reds.

http://mlb.si.com/2012/12/12/d-backs...9-player-swap/

I hope he is right.

[RedsFaninAfrica]

It's hard to conceive that any real Reds fan could think this a bad deal. I'm elated. Choo gets on base a lot (2012 OPS .815). Imagine what that'll do to Phillips, Votto, Ludwick and Bruce's offensive production. I get nauseous remembering how many times Votto came to the plate in 2012 with 2 outs and nobody on. That'll change in 2013 with Choo leading off and Phillips batting second where he belongs. I'll gladly give up a bit of defense with the gain in offensive production.

[gedred69]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the CF swap. Just one thought nags me though. I remember back to the latter 80's when the Reds had 2 can't miss SS in the pipe, both MLB ready, no more than a season apart. Ultimately, one who went on to a few decent seasons, (all-star once I think) was traded, and the one they kept just entered the HOF this summer. I hope Cozart over Gregorious is half as wise as Larkin over Stillwell.

[Mutaman]

"Stubbs’ defense regressed significantly in the last two seasons"

I must have missed those games.

[Rantly]

Originally Posted by Mutaman

"Stubbs’ defense regressed significantly in the last two seasons"

I must have missed those games.

I was thinking same thing!

[Captain13]

The thing that scares me is Ludwick and Bruce have both played more CF than Choo. Does this mean we will see too much Heisey in CF and a Choo-Ludwick platoon in LF? Dusty has done dumber things.

[alwaysawarrior]

Originally Posted by Captain13

The thing that scares me is Ludwick and Bruce have both played more CF than Choo. Does this mean we will see too much Heisey in CF and a Choo-Ludwick platoon in LF? Dusty has done dumber things.

They didn't trade for Choo to platoon him with Ludwick. If they don't think he can hack it in CF they will slide Bruce over. I think the defense aspect is being overplayed. Will Choo be worse in CF than Stubbs? Undoubtedly. However not so drastically that it is going to offset the offensive production. Giving Votto someone to drive in will be huge. With Choo and Phillips as opposed to Cozart and Stubbs the difference is going to be huge.

[Stray]

Originally Posted by Captain13

The thing that scares me is Ludwick and Bruce have both played more CF than Choo. Does this mean we will see too much Heisey in CF and a Choo-Ludwick platoon in LF? Dusty has done dumber things.

The money we paid Ludwick makes him the starter, and Ludwick didn't turn down more money elsewhere to come back here and be in a platoon.

I think we'll see Bruce in CF on opening day.

[Pony Boy]

The Reds are following simple logic:

-Choo was considered to be a good defensive corner outfielder for most of his career. His decline in recent years probably isn't due to advancing age (he is only 30). His decline was therefore probably due to falling into bad habits with his technique (and bad luck). Poor technique is correctable, so he can probably become a good defensive corner outfielder again.

-Choo demonstrates good speed on the base paths. The main difference between playing a corner OF spot and CF is that you need to cover more ground as a CF. Given his speed on the base paths, Choo probably has enough speed to have decent range as a CF.

[malcontent]

Originally Posted by gedred69

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the CF swap. Just one thought nags me though. I remember back to the latter 80's when the Reds had 2 can't miss SS in the pipe, both MLB ready, no more than a season apart. Ultimately, one who went on to a few decent seasons, (all-star once I think) was traded, and the one they kept just entered the HOF this summer. I hope Cozart over Gregorious is half as wise as Larkin over Stillwell.

I think Gregorius will surprise some of the experts who are calling him a "good-field, no-hit" guy.

But with the way Cozart played last year I'm fine with the choice to move Didi....assuming, of course, that Cozart couldn't have replaced him in the trade.

[SweetLou1990]

Originally Posted by gedred69

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the CF swap. Just one thought nags me though. I remember back to the latter 80's when the Reds had 2 can't miss SS in the pipe, both MLB ready, no more than a season apart. Ultimately, one who went on to a few decent seasons, (all-star once I think) was traded, and the one they kept just entered the HOF this summer. I hope Cozart over Gregorious is half as wise as Larkin over Stillwell.

I hear ya, but in 2012, Cozart was def major league ready and Didi was not. Also Cozart was a candidate for a gold glove, so as of now, it looks like the right decision.

[Hondo]

Originally Posted by Eric the Red

Donald seems like a good fit then. Being versatile is certainly an asset. If he can hit .250 to .260 in about 150-200 at bats with solid defense he'll prove to be a very nice role player.

If Donald gets 150-200 AB's we've got problems...

[LeDoux]

Won't the Reds likely receive a sandwich pick if Choo signs elsewhere for 2014? (assuming the Reds offer 1 YR/ ~12 million).