Maybe the answer is not BIG NAME free agents...

[William]

Whenever I read Redszone I see many different people saying we need to re-sign Choo (who's starting price is $100 MM). I see how we need to make all these trades to get these big name guys AKA Stanton, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Bautista etc., but what if it isn't the big name guys the Reds need? What if it is the little pieces to plug in to complete this team? Look at our top guys..Votto, Bruce, Latos, Chapman, healthy Cueto, Bailey, and Phillips..I would be willing to bet that 50% of major league teams would kill to have that set of core players. All these guys need is a good supporting cast..look at what the Red Sox did this past offseason. The years before they added guys like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, John Lackey, and Adrian Beltre, but last season they added complementary players to their core (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Lester, and Buchholtz) such as Victorino, Napoli, Gomes, Drew, Uehara, and Dempster and none of these players are the "sexy" names of baseball that the Red Sox normally get and it caused Ben Cherrington and the rest of the Red Sox organization to come under a little fire and many analysts thought they would end up in the cellar again....but look at them now...best record in baseball and heavy favorites to make it to the World Series. So I say all this to say maybe the Reds don't need these superstar players to complete their team and get them over the hump don't get me wrong, I would love to bring back Choo(!) he became one of my favorite players this season but..maybe they need guys like Carlos Ruiz, Mike Morse, Juan Pierre, Chris Young, or Nate McLouth. I'm not sure which of these would help the Reds and which one of these are really even worth their time, but its just a thought...

[krm1580]

Whenever I read Redszone I see many different people saying we need to re-sign Choo (who's starting price is $100 MM). I see how we need to make all these trades to get these big name guys AKA Stanton, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Bautista etc., but what if it isn't the big name guys the Reds need? What if it is the little pieces to plug in to complete this team? Look at our top guys..Votto, Bruce, Latos, Chapman, healthy Cueto, Bailey, and Phillips..I would be willing to bet that 50% of major league teams would kill to have that set of core players. All these guys need is a good supporting cast..look at what the Red Sox did this past offseason. The years before they added guys like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, John Lackey, and Adrian Beltre, but last season they added complementary players to their core (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Lester, and Buchholtz) such as Victorino, Napoli, Gomes, Drew, Uehara, and Dempster and none of these players are the "sexy" names of baseball that the Red Sox normally get and it caused Ben Cherrington and the rest of the Red Sox organization to come under a little fire and many analysts thought they would end up in the cellar again....but look at them now...best record in baseball and heavy favorites to make it to the World Series. So I say all this to say maybe the Reds don't need these superstar players to complete their team and get them over the hump don't get me wrong, I would love to bring back Choo(!) he became one of my favorite players this season but..maybe they need guys like Carlos Ruiz, Mike Morse, Juan Pierre, Chris Young, or Nate McLouth. I'm not sure which of these would help the Reds and which one of these are really even worth their time, but its just a thought...

Are you aware the guys you listed as "complimentary" players made a combined 51 million dollars last season?

[William]

Are you aware the guys you listed as "complimentary" players made a combined 51 million dollars last season?

I never said the Reds could go sign 6 guys..it was just an idea. The main idea behind me saying this was just finding pieces to plug in. They don't have to be GREAT they just have to be good enough.

[Ron Delancey]

I like this concept..

[krm1580]

I never said the Reds could go sign 6 guys..it was just an idea. The main idea behind me saying this was just finding pieces to plug in. They don't have to be GREAT they just have to be good enough.

I get your point about not focusing on stars. The point I was making is that even guys considered second tier players that are 750-800 OPS bats, which is what this team needs, make significant money which a payroll like the Reds could not support.

I would love to see the Reds kick the tires on guys who could really add value to the team like an Eric Chavez as a part time 3B or off the bench or Dionner Navarro as a backup catcher. If you can get guys like that a less than 2 million then do it. Problem is most guys that can play you are looking at 5-7 million which starts getting cost prohibitive.

[SporkLover]

If the Reds chase after a roster like that they'd be nothing but a flash in the pan. Trade away future talent, saddle with current big salaries works for Boston, New York, and most California teams. The reds do not have the resources to put together a winnng team that way and maintain a winning record for long.

As a mid-market team the Cards are a better to emulate.

[scotly50]

I do not think we can stand pat. This lineup proved they cannot win in the postseason.

My opinion is if we keep Choo, then we should shop Bruce. Three of our top hitters are lefty's. Just too many at the top.

We have to do something about the holes in our lineup. With RF, C, and SS hovering around 215 for most of season is not going to get us far.

[RedlegJake]

RF? You are seriously blaming Bruce? Seriously? I hope you meant LF...

[scotly50]

RF? You are seriously blaming Bruce? Seriously? I hope you meant LF...

No blame at all. It is just if we sign Choo we will our top three hitters left handed. Just too many lefty's at the top. In trading Bruce we could get equal talent on the right side and give us balance at the top of the lineup.

[Old school 1983]

If I'm picking between Bruce and choo, then I'm picking Bruce. This team does need a move or two, but is way closer than people think. Hopefully a culture change of a new manager can help those who are there and with the new manager, hopefully jocketty makes some intelligent personnel decisions that can keep the reds in the hunt in 2014 and years down the road.

[uteroasis]

I would love to see the Reds kick the tires on guys who could really add value to the team like an Eric Chavez as a part time 3B or off the bench or Dionner Navarro as a backup catcher. If you can get guys like that a less than 2 million then do it. Problem is most guys that can play you are looking at 5-7 million which starts getting cost prohibitive.

You bring up two really good names. Those guys would've been invaluable bench assets in 2013. I know that it is typical of teams in the Reds financial situation to save money by stocking the bench with cheap options, but Hannahan and Izturis offered extremely limited production. Obviously, this is where a team like the Dodgers can shell out cash to keep a guy like Michael Young on their bench.

I think the Reds best chance is to try to catch a guy like Brian Roberts (injury plagued but talented) looking to prove themselves. We saw this work with Navarro--former All-Star trying to return to form. Giving a guaranteed roster spot to Hannahan is not a smart move going forward.

[Old NDN]

When was the last time the Reds went BIG for an established free agent? Cordero?

[SporkLover]

Whenever I read Redszone I see many different people saying we need to re-sign Choo (who's starting price is $100 MM). I see how we need to make all these trades to get these big name guys AKA Stanton, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Bautista etc., but what if it isn't the big name guys the Reds need? What if it is the little pieces to plug in to complete this team? Look at our top guys..Votto, Bruce, Latos, Chapman, healthy Cueto, Bailey, and Phillips..I would be willing to bet that 50% of major league teams would kill to have that set of core players. All these guys need is a good supporting cast..look at what the Red Sox did this past offseason. The years before they added guys like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, John Lackey, and Adrian Beltre, but last season they added complementary players to their core (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Lester, and Buchholtz) such as Victorino, Napoli, Gomes, Drew, Uehara, and Dempster and none of these players are the "sexy" names of baseball that the Red Sox normally get and it caused Ben Cherrington and the rest of the Red Sox organization to come under a little fire and many analysts thought they would end up in the cellar again....but look at them now...best record in baseball and heavy favorites to make it to the World Series. So I say all this to say maybe the Reds don't need these superstar players to complete their team and get them over the hump don't get me wrong, I would love to bring back Choo(!) he became one of my favorite players this season but..maybe they need guys like Carlos Ruiz, Mike Morse, Juan Pierre, Chris Young, or Nate McLouth. I'm not sure which of these would help the Reds and which one of these are really even worth their time, but its just a thought...

Hmmm here is an interesting statement from Jockety's replacement in STL


"I've always felt it's sort of a great model when you have a diverse portfolio," Mozeliak said. "The thing about it is, we've always known we had the core players -- the Beltrans, the Molinas, the Wainwrights, the Hollidays. The defining success would be, could our complementary players and our young group come in and make it work? And they did."

[Rimshot]

It's simply a matter of hitching yourself to the right horses. Need to do your homework on the guy's mental makeup, how his skillset brings value to your club now and and at what rate that skillset projects to degrade down the road. And then hope for a little luck.

I always watch how a young player responds to a new clubhouse after being called up. If I see a newbie in the dugout talking to one of the veterans of a similar position, that always draws my attention. Usually means the kid is trying to learn, and that's always good. Complacency has stalled a lot of baseball careers.

[Lewdog]

When was the last time the Reds went BIG for an established free agent? Cordero?

Aroldis Chapman?

[MoneyInTheBank]

Whenever I read Redszone I see many different people saying we need to re-sign Choo (who's starting price is $100 MM). I see how we need to make all these trades to get these big name guys AKA Stanton, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Bautista etc., but what if it isn't the big name guys the Reds need? What if it is the little pieces to plug in to complete this team? Look at our top guys..Votto, Bruce, Latos, Chapman, healthy Cueto, Bailey, and Phillips..I would be willing to bet that 50% of major league teams would kill to have that set of core players. All these guys need is a good supporting cast..look at what the Red Sox did this past offseason. The years before they added guys like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, John Lackey, and Adrian Beltre, but last season they added complementary players to their core (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Lester, and Buchholtz) such as Victorino, Napoli, Gomes, Drew, Uehara, and Dempster and none of these players are the "sexy" names of baseball that the Red Sox normally get and it caused Ben Cherrington and the rest of the Red Sox organization to come under a little fire and many analysts thought they would end up in the cellar again....but look at them now...best record in baseball and heavy favorites to make it to the World Series. So I say all this to say maybe the Reds don't need these superstar players to complete their team and get them over the hump don't get me wrong, I would love to bring back Choo(!) he became one of my favorite players this season but..maybe they need guys like Carlos Ruiz, Mike Morse, Juan Pierre, Chris Young, or Nate McLouth. I'm not sure which of these would help the Reds and which one of these are really even worth their time, but its just a thought...

Although you don't consider them big or "sexy" names, here are the rankings (according to Yahoo) of the guys you named amongst free agents last offseason: 6, 17, 19, 21, 38, 49

The point I'm trying to make is that the Red Sox weren't exactly shopping at the dollar store during free agency.