Time to blow it up!

[redsfanmia]

Yes, they definitely are going to be players in FA. Last year they had the Bailey contract to deal with. That dictated the off-season. $28 million commitment to Homer, on top of Votto, etc. This year their main asset is money, they are going to be active.

In terms of salary dumps, Sonny Gray worked out pretty well. Yasiel Puig worked out well after an initial slump. That’s a fertile area as well even if you don’t love the Dodger trade.

And, as I added to a previous post - Reds have gone from -123 pythag last year to +8. There’s been clear improvement.

They are improved, i just have to see it to believe it when it comes to the team being anything more than bottom feeders in free agency.

[Bruce Berenyi]

you cant blow this juggernaut up, they are ahead of the pirates in an epic battle, keep this fantastic team, let Bells great great great great as yet unborn gastrula manage the team

[Kc61]

They are improved, i just have to see it to believe it when it comes to the team being anything more than bottom feeders in free agency.

Me too! But if they don’t spend this off-season they are nowhere. They started to “add” last off-season and their best available asset is cash now. If they keep the money in their pockets then I’m finished trying to figure these guys out.

[MM83]

Me too! But if they don’t spend this off-season they are nowhere. They started to “add” last off-season and their best available asset is cash now. If they keep the money in their pockets then I’m finished trying to figure these guys out.

You think this ‘available’ 35-40 million is gonna buy them 20 wins?

[herbdizzle]

I don't get the gloom and doom that next year is all or nothing and blow it up. Senzel, Aquino, Winker, Van Meter, & Ervin are all players I can see taking another leap forward next year. You can get 1 year at SS from either Iglesias or Galvis. Castillo & Gray are locked up long term. Bauer & Disco are both solid MOR options next year. We do need some bullpen help clearly and I'd spend every last dollar on that.

If you keep Senzel in CF, fine. I'd get an offense first C (Grandal) and 2B. Move Senzel back to 2B; go get 1 of the trio of Puig/Castellanos/Dickerson and mix them in with Aquino, Ervin & Winker. I know every game counts in the standings but I really don't put much emphasis on the first 10 games when we were still weeding out Kemp and others. From 2-8 to 68-79; that's obviously not good but is an improvement. I think another similar improvement of 8-10 wins is reasonable next year which puts them in wild card hunt.

[Sea Ray]

Reds averaged 95 losses for four seasons, were in a deep hole, are poised to improve by 8 games at the current pace. It’s a reasonable upswing and they’ll have more to spend next off-season. The worst starting staff in memory has been converted to one of the better staffs in the NL, covering a key element of any rebuild.

They spent years avoiding any significant major league additions, but now have added players like Gray, Bauer, Puig for awhile, Roark for awhile, and will undoubtedly add more good players soon. They have some good young players, Senzel, Aquino, Castillo, to name a few. Suarez has emerged as a star.

I just don’t see the tragedy here. The team is progressing.

Let's say they increase their win total 8 games. Was that worth 4 top 100 prospects (Trammell, Downs, Gray and Moss could be there soon)? It absolutely isn't. I'm happy they increased their win total but it's only worth that if you're increasing it from say 88 to 96 wins. Going from wins in the 60s to the 70s is not worth it. NO team in baseball does it that way. None. There's a reason for that. This isn't like trading Randall Simon. I don't think Reds' fans grasp the high price they've paid for a 4th place team. They need to trade for guys like Trammell, Gray and Moss now! It'll take a lot of work just to get the organization back to where it was a yr ago.

On the positive side, I like what I'm seeing from Joey Votto. I think we may be able to get some production out of him next yr if we rest him a great deal more. For his part he has to knock off the Felix Milan choke up stuff and he has to start better. We can't afford for him to stibk it up till mid June

[RedsfaninMT]

Let's say they increase their win total 8 games. Was that worth 4 top 100 prospects (Trammell, Downs, Gray and Moss could be there soon)? It absolutely isn't. I'm happy they increased their win total but it's only worth that if you're increasing it from say 88 to 96 wins. Going from wins in the 60s to the 70s is not worth it. NO team in baseball does it that way. None. There's a reason for that. This isn't like trading Randall Simon. I don't think Reds' fans grasp the high price they've paid for a 4th place team. They need to trade for guys like Trammell, Gray and Moss now! It'll take a lot of work just to get the organization back to where it was a yr ago.

On the positive side, I like what I'm seeing from Joey Votto. I think we may be able to get some production out of him next yr if we rest him a great deal more. For his part he has to knock off the Felix Milan choke up stuff and he has to start better. We can't afford for him to stibk it up till mid June

Who the heck is Randall Simon? But I agree, Reds should NOT be trading prospects for one-year vets.

[malcontent]

It'll take a lot of work just to get the organization back to where it was a yr ago.

This is where I'm at now. On the sunny-side, a few more bottom-5 finishes could go a long way toward that goal.

[malcontent]

you cant blow this juggernaut up, they are ahead of the pirates in an epic battle, keep this fantastic team, let Bells great great great great as yet unborn gastrula manage the team

Classic!

[Kc61]

You think this ‘available’ 35-40 million is gonna buy them 20 wins?

If Reds add two starting good hitters and two good relievers I’d pick them to contend for a wild card. Over .500, I don’t know exactly how many wins.

[Kc61]

Let's say they increase their win total 8 games. Was that worth 4 top 100 prospects (Trammell, Downs, Gray and Moss could be there soon)? It absolutely isn't. I'm happy they increased their win total but it's only worth that if you're increasing it from say 88 to 96 wins. Going from wins in the 60s to the 70s is not worth it. NO team in baseball does it that way. None. There's a reason for that. This isn't like trading Randall Simon. I don't think Reds' fans grasp the high price they've paid for a 4th place team. They need to trade for guys like Trammell, Gray and Moss now! It'll take a lot of work just to get the organization back to where it was a yr ago.

On the positive side, I like what I'm seeing from Joey Votto. I think we may be able to get some production out of him next yr if we rest him a great deal more. For his part he has to knock off the Felix Milan choke up stuff and he has to start better. We can't afford for him to stibk it up till mid June

It takes a few years to get from 95 losses to contention. The Reds made their first step this year.

An eight game pickup is meaningful. Maybe it will get to ten games, 77 wins, that’s what I hoped for when the season began.

That they traded some prospects doesn’t bother me in the least. The problem with the Reds was the total absence of serious veteran additions for years. You can’t compete with the contending clubs without those additions.

Prospects are there to keep or to trade. If they guess wrong on a few, that’s unfortunate, but it’s not worth all this cyberspace. It’s part of doing business.

I think Reds are in good position to add several more good major league players and improve again next year.

[MM83]

It takes a few years to get from 95 losses to contention. The Reds made their first step this year.

An eight game pickup is meaningful. Maybe it will get to ten games, 77 wins, that’s what I hoped for when the season began.

That they traded some prospects doesn’t bother me in the least. The problem with the Reds was the total absence of serious veteran additions for years. You can’t compete with the contending clubs without those additions.

Prospects are there to keep or to trade. If they guess wrong on a few, that’s unfortunate, but it’s not worth all this cyberspace. It’s part of doing business.

I think Reds are in good position to add several more good major league players and improve again next year.

They are a small market team and they rely on prospects becoming viable MLB talent to compete.

You’re wrong. As the poster said, the reds should be acquiring players like Trammell, Downs and Gray.

Not trading them for short term rentals on teams that can barely win 70 games

Teams don’t rebuild by finishing in last place for half a decade, then Adding 5 WAR to a 95 loss team and trading a large percentage of your upside prospects

[M2]

They are a small market team and they rely on prospects becoming viable MLB talent to compete.

That's the plan that failed so spectacularly in 2015-18. Continuing to try that and expecting different results is baseball orthodoxy, but while we're complaining the Reds might have crossed halfway across the void to respectability. I'll take this over the death march they were on.

[MM83]

That's the plan that failed so spectacularly in 2015-18. Continuing to try that and expecting different results is baseball orthodoxy, but while we're complaining the Reds might have crossed halfway across the void to respectability. I'll take this over the death march they were on.

They are still awful
They will be awful next year
At least with young talent you have the chance to be good for a long time

Now we get to be ****ty for a few years but not a laughingstock.

[Wonderful Monds]

They are still awful
They will be awful next year
At least with young talent you have the chance to be good for a long time

Now we get to be ****ty for a few years but not a laughingstock.

They’re like a middling team this year, especially given their runs scored vs allowed. They were truly awful from 2015-18. They were at least respectable if not outright good at times this season. They have enough pieces were they could be legitimately great next season if they make the right moves.