Originally Posted by
mth123
Depending on the health of some guys, its going to be pretty crowded in the high minors.
In AAA the rotation will probably include Wood, Jukich, Lecure, Klinker and a reclamation project/vet for insurance. The pen looks to include one of Fisher or Ramirez, with Viola, Ondrusek, Del Rosario, Thompson, Watson and Bray. At AA, the rotation might include Horst, Buck, Smith, Smit and Avery or Carroll. The pen probably has Valiquette, Krebs, Thurman, Geronimo, Medina, Carroll or one of the other starters, maybe Pawelek. Guys like Castro, Infante, Joseph, Leake, Boxberger and Fairel will all hit those levels at some point. Terrell Young probably fits in somewhere. Below AA the team needs room for some younger guys like Serrano, Pearl, Sulbarren, Tuttle, Lotzkar, etc.
I just like all those guys better than Tabor and Lutz, but they could be kept around until spring for sure. Some of these are bound to come up lame and others could be dealt off or promoted to backfill for some one else who is dealt which might leave room for a guy like Tabor. Some may be lost in the minor league portion of rule 5. I'd just like to see the Reds bring a starter or two in for AAA as insurance for the big league team and as a lottery ticket for finding a guy (I'm talking about major leaguers who will probably be available on the cheap and need a restart like Noah Lowry, Boof Bonser, etc). That may push guys like Smit, Avery and Lecure to the pen. Lutz and Tabor just don't fit in the numbers game IMO if all those guys are back and pitching.