Didi Gregorius

[Scrap Irony]

Cozart at 3B isn't nearly good enough offensively to offset his (probable) good glove.

The Reds are going to need to make a decision between Cozart and Gregorius within the next year or so. If Hamilton continues to hit like he has the past season and a half, they may need to revisit that decision shortly thereafter.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Cozart at 3B isn't nearly good enough offensively to offset his (probable) good glove.

The Reds are going to need to make a decision between Cozart and Gregorius within the next year or so. If Hamilton continues to hit like he has the past season and a half, they may need to revisit that decision shortly thereafter.

Which is partly why I was against re-signing BP to such an extension. A Didi & Cozart MIF is potentially pretty good and would allow us to pick up a guy like Chase Headley to play 3B going forward.

[Vottomatic]

Originally Posted by Mario-Rijo

Which is partly why I was against re-signing BP to such an extension. A Didi & Cozart MIF is potentially pretty good and would allow us to pick up a guy like Chase Headley to play 3B going forward.

Hmmm. BP is making that extension look pretty good with his recent surge. Dude just continues to get it done. I mean, we are talking about probably one of the top 3 or 4 second basemen in mlb aren't we, with BP?

[Wonderful Monds]

Originally Posted by Vottomatic

Hmmm. BP is making that extension look pretty good with his recent surge. Dude just continues to get it done. I mean, we are talking about probably one of the top 3 or 4 second basemen in mlb aren't we, with BP?

Yeah, meanwhile Cozart is falling on his face so far. No way I'm gonna be handwringing about having Brandon Phillips instead of Zack Cozart.

[fearofpopvol1]

Cozart will probably be worth 2.5 - 3 wins above replacement come the end of his rookie season. That's pretty darned good. He would probably seem even better if he wasn't batting leadoff.

I think it would be very premature at this point to say that Gregorius would be better than Cozart.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1

Cozart will probably be worth 2.5 - 3 wins above replacement come the end of his rookie season. That's pretty darned good. He would probably seem even better if he wasn't batting leadoff.

I think it would be very premature at this point to say that Gregorius would be better than Cozart.

It is premature. But 2.5 wins isn't a guy you aren't looking to replace with a better option if you can either, and that was the point most are trying to make, I believe. Cozart is a Major Leaguer, but he isn't someone who has earned the right to get leeway of not being replaced either. He isn't that good and probably won't be given that he is going to be 27 in two weeks.

[fearofpopvol1]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

It is premature. But 2.5 wins isn't a guy you aren't looking to replace with a better option if you can either, and that was the point most are trying to make, I believe. Cozart is a Major Leaguer, but he isn't someone who has earned the right to get leeway of not being replaced either. He isn't that good and probably won't be given that he is going to be 27 in two weeks.

Cozart may be a 3 win player in his rookie season. When was the last time the Reds had an everyday SS worth at least 3 wins above replacement? Felipe Lopez in 2005? You really think Didi would top that? And in his rookie year? I don't. The Reds cannot afford to be patient either, as their window is over the next few years.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1

Cozart may be a 3 win player in his rookie season. When was the last time the Reds had an everyday SS worth at least 3 wins above replacement? Felipe Lopez in 2005? You really think Didi would top that? And in his rookie year? I don't. The Reds cannot afford to be patient either, as their window is over the next few years.

I am not sure what the Reds having someone else do that has to do with looking for a better option.

Do I think Didi could top a 3 win season? Yes, I do. Do I think he could do it in his rookie season? Depends on when that season took place. Next year? Probably not, but maybe. 2014? Could be.

[fearofpopvol1]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

I am not sure what the Reds having someone else do that has to do with looking for a better option.

Do I think Didi could top a 3 win season? Yes, I do. Do I think he could do it in his rookie season? Depends on when that season took place. Next year? Probably not, but maybe. 2014? Could be.

The point is that the Reds could not afford to be patient with Didi as he'd likely goes through his rookie pains. There'd be no way of knowing if Didi could outperform Cozart until he's actually called up. I think the Reds (and rightfully so) would go with the surer thing in Cozart. This of course assumes that Cozart remains healthy.

I think it's a huge leap to think that Didi will be better than Cozart at The Show. There are currently only 9 shortstops in all of the majors worth more wins than Cozart in 2012. And he's a rookie.

[mth123]

Something to consider is that the Reds may need both Didi and Cozart. With Didi being a slick fielder who can hit from the left side, he seems the perfect guy to form a tandem with Cozart and Phillips. They all have glove. Cozart is pretty splitty and would be a better player if he was less exposed to tough RHP. Give him day or two off each week against the right pitchers with Didi playing and the overall production from the position would be improved without any drop defensively. Add that Phillips is heading into his 30s and will probably slow down as well and Didi could see a start or two each week at 2B as well. I don't see any reason why Didi couldn't be a very valuable 300 PA per year player in the MI while making both Cozart and Phillips more effective than they would be other wise. Given Phillips age and the contract that will keep him here, I think the need for a guy like Didi who can provide 300 PAs in he MI will show itself by 2014 when Didi is ready to assume that role. By then, Phillips will be in his age 32 season. After a couple of seasons of that, Cozart will be heading deeper into his arb years and it may be time for Didi to take over full-time at SS with Cozart moving on and the next kid in line assuming the back-up MI role.

Meanwhile, lets hope Hamilton can man CF and be the top of the order presence we all hope. I don't really see it anywhere else in the organization.

[11larkin11]

Originally Posted by OesterPoster

How is Didi's spray chart? I can't remember Cozart hitting a ball to right field for a hit this year (maybe I missed it), so I was just wondering if Didi uses the entire field. I realize he's only a rookie, but Cozart sure swings at a LOT of pitches, seems to be immune to taking a walk, and he pulls everything. Just seems like he's going to need some adjustments when pitchers throw everything away to him.

Just wanna mention that about 17% of Cozart's hits are to right and 31% are to center.

[UK Reds Fan]

Originally Posted by mth123

Something to consider is that the Reds may need both Didi and Cozart. With Didi being a slick fielder who can hit from the left side, he seems the perfect guy to form a tandem with Cozart and Phillips. They all have glove. Cozart is pretty splitty and would be a better player if he was less exposed to tough RHP. Give him day or two off each week against the right pitchers with Didi playing and the overall production from the position would be improved without any drop defensively. Add that Phillips is heading into his 30s and will probably slow down as well and Didi could see a start or two each week at 2B as well. I don't see any reason why Didi couldn't be a very valuable 300 PA per year player in the MI while making both Cozart and Phillips more effective than they would be other wise. Given Phillips age and the contract that will keep him here, I think the need for a guy like Didi who can provide 300 PAs in he MI will show itself by 2014 when Didi is ready to assume that role. By then, Phillips will be in his age 32 season. After a couple of seasons of that, Cozart will be heading deeper into his arb years and it may be time for Didi to take over full-time at SS with Cozart moving on and the next kid in line assuming the back-up MI role.

Meanwhile, lets hope Hamilton can man CF and be the top of the order presence we all hope. I don't really see it anywhere else in the organization.

I agree totally here. A lefty batting MI is exactly what the Reds need to boost production vs. RHP. I'd love to see him in there vs. guys like Valdez, Willie Harris. If he can make the jump to big league team...he could bolster the bench.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1

The point is that the Reds could not afford to be patient with Didi as he'd likely goes through his rookie pains. There'd be no way of knowing if Didi could outperform Cozart until he's actually called up. I think the Reds (and rightfully so) would go with the surer thing in Cozart. This of course assumes that Cozart remains healthy.

I think it's a huge leap to think that Didi will be better than Cozart at The Show. There are currently only 9 shortstops in all of the majors worth more wins than Cozart in 2012. And he's a rookie.

Cozart is going to be in his prime season next year. It isn't like he is 23. He probably isn't going to be any better than he is right now. I don't really find it to be a huge leap to suggest that Didi can be a 3-4 win player at some point in his career. Plus defense, good contact rates, 10-15 home runs.

[Scrap Irony]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Cozart is going to be in his prime season next year. It isn't like he is 23. He probably isn't going to be any better than he is right now. I don't really find it to be a huge leap to suggest that Didi can be a 3-4 win player at some point in his career. Plus defense, good contact rates, 10-15 home runs.

fop isn't saying a nebulous "some time," doug. He's talking about the window of competitiveness over the next three years or so. (And especially next season.) His opinion is that Jocketty and company won't want to trust a rookie SS to possibly outperform a 3.0 WAR player. He'd have to have a monster Spring Training AND Cozart would have to struggle big time for that to happen.

[dougdirt]

From Baseball America yesterday:

With Zack Cozart playing a solid shortstop for the first-place Reds, there's no need for DiDi Gregorius any time soon, but the 22-year-old ought to make Cincinnati's decision interesting when he's ready.